


as the ocean opens up to swallow you

by CarbonFootprint



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fantasy, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Merman!Takumi, Minor Injuries, More tags to be added later!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:05:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6690853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarbonFootprint/pseuds/CarbonFootprint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Takumi was an enigma, a paradox that had proved himself harmless. Without fear of danger, they could learn from each other. Leo wanted desperately to learn him, to gather information to bring to his siblings and the kingdom to show them that merpeople weren’t evil. There couldn’t be any evil contained in Takumi’s eyes. They were too alive with light and good. </p><p>And Leo yearned to be near someone that free, that bright and warm."</p><p>An AU where Hoshido is a hidden kingdom under the sea, inhabited by half-human, half-fish people, and Leo wants nothing more than to protect it while his Father is bent on destroying it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought of this last night at 4 a.m.? And then I thought about it SO MUCH I had to write the first chapter oh gosh wow
> 
> I'm a sucker for merpeople AUs and sine FE has so much magical stuff anyway it gave me an excuse to right this magic based mer AU rather than one that's more science-y.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this first chapter!!! <3 Thank you for reading and enjoy!

The only place that light consistently fell in Nohr was on the shore, and still the oceanfront was wracked with storms as violent as the ones that hit Nohr’s mainland from time to time. It was a dark, desolate kingdom, cursed and ruined by a King’s greed and hatred, and his overwhelming desire to conquer a world never seen by human eyes.

Merpeople were savages, that was what Leo had always learned from his Father. There were brutes that lived beneath the ocean’s waves, bent on destruction of the human world on the land. They kept the goodness of the Earth locked up in their underwater kingdom. They had the food and resources and the light that Nohr was deprived of, cursed to be that way by the merpeople themselves.

Despite what Father said, Leo had learned the truth of the curse on their lands years prior from Xander. Father had fooled the king and queen of the underwater kingdom into meeting with him, only to slaughter them in cold blood. Part of him wondered if Father had been right in doing that.

The last words that had left the queen’s lips had been a curse and, the night after that, Nohr’s soil had turned to the consistency of ash, infertile and weak. Plants had wilted immediately and livestock had grown sick and diseased, so much so that very few plants or farm animals had been saved. The lands turned cold and dark, wracked with storms and at a loss for sunlight, but only the beach was granted some reprieve.

The shore was the border between their kingdoms, and Leo had always learned it was heavily guarded, but he had never once seen a merperson with a weapon of any sort beneath the waves. He had never even seen any sign of life other than small fish.

Father had a strict law on the sighting of merpeople anyway. If they were to be seen, they should be captured and brought before him, where he would either kill them or try and use them as a hostage to get to the underwater kingdom.

Leo found it somewhat ironic that in Father’s quest to find and destroy the merpeople, he had made them scarce, terrified of ever approaching the land.

Xander nor Camilla nor Elise ever went down the the beach. He was the only one who preferred the cold breeze that came off the water to quell the heat of the sun and the smell of the salty ocean water.

“Are you going down to the shore today, Leo?” Camilla had asked him that morning, a small frown on her lips. It had been storming for nearly a week, and now that the clouds had stopped dropping copious amounts of rain on their lands, he itched to go outside, to feel the wind on his cheeks and the sun on the nape of his neck for just a little while. He was no fan of harsh sunlight, but in small doses he found it enjoyable, a touch of warmth for his cold existence in a cursed kingdom.

“I am,” he nodded, knowing Camilla wouldn’t try to stop him as she had always done when he was younger. She only gave a small nod and a gentle smile before she stood to leave the room there were sitting in after breakfast.

“If you find anything pretty that washed up in the storms, I’m sure Elise would appreciate you bringing it back for her. And make sure you don’t stay in the sun too long! You know how you burn, dear,” his sister said before she left the room.

There was never anything remotely pretty on the beach. The most Leo had ever found was a few stark white shells, bleached of any color they may have once had by the sun. It was his private place, but it was in no way interesting. It was rather dull actually, but it was his only reprieve from the darkness that seemed to swallow up everything in Nohr.

He walked the shore with his boots held in one hand his his tome in the other. He never went anywhere alone without his tome, and his sword hung at his side too. Merpeople were dangerous and savage. Should he encounter one, he had to be ready to defend himself from the onslaught of violence that would certainly ensue.

He rounded the part of the shore that circled a tall cliff side, he stopped short, squinting the distance against the sunlight at an object laying on the sand. It looked like a person, a woman probably from the length of the hair, and it was just laying there, limp in the sand. As he got closer he realized that it was no _human_. While the musculature of the upper body was like that of his own, there were no legs from the waist down, just a long, scaly tail twisted up in a net.

A merperson.

A merman to be more precise, which he realized as he edged a bit closer. His grip tightened on his tome and he set his boots down in the sand, reaching for the sword at his waist in case he would need to defend himself. The merman was hopelessly twisted in the net, its skin sliced and rubbed raw by the dense ropes in some places. Its eyes were closed as it lay on the sand, unmoving and bleeding from the injuries the net had caused.

Leo heard his foot snap on a twig and then the merman’s eyes were wide open, a bright, clear amber in color, his pale face framed in silver locks that shone under the sun. He locked eyes with the merman for a second before the creature moved, but it didn’t launch itself at him.

Rather, the merman made a gasping sound of alarm and started to try and get away from him, silvery hair swirling around him in the wind as he struggled hard against the bounds of the net, those amber eyes suddenly flooding with…

_Fear?_

Why would a bloodthirsty creature be afraid of _him_? Why would it not attack him with claws and teeth, searching for blood? As he stood in shock, he noted that the merman’s nails we not long nor clawed in anyway, and its teeth appeared as normal as his own.

His grip on his sword eased up as he blinked in shock down at the struggling creature.

Why would anyone harm such a defenseless thing?

Who would be low enough to take a blade to the throat of something already so broken and afraid?

Only a monster would do something like that, and he was certain he was no monster.

There was no way he would ever take a life so easily. There was only pure fear written in every bit of the merman’s face and body, its- no, _his_ amber eyes teary.

“I will not hurt you,” he finally said, causing the merman to freeze in his frenzied movements, “Can you understand me?” he asked out, dropping to one knee to be more on the same level as the merman. He had no idea what kind of language merpeople spoke, but the merman had stopped struggling at his voice. Maybe he understood him. Maybe he believed him.

The merman gave a slow, shaky nod, his bottom lip bitten between his teeth. His amber eyes were moved quickly, taking in Leo’s face and clothes and weapons. His eyes were on his sword for a longer moment before they were back on his face, glassy with fear and slightly hazy with exhaustion and pain. There was no need to hurt someone who was already that terrified. He was grateful that Xander had taught him mercy when Father had failed to.

“Alright, so you understand me then,” Leo hummed with a nod, “I will not hurt you. Will you allow me to- to help you?”

_This was wrong._

_He’s the enemy._

No, this was right.

Father couldn’t be correct. There was no way this merman could be lethal. He was young looking, probably the same age as Leo himself if merpeople years and ages worked the same way human years did. When the merman made no move to answer, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small knife to show to the merman.

“This will cut away the ropes? Will you let me help you?” He could tell the merman was barely hanging on as it was. His arms were shaking with exhaustion as he tried to hold himself up, several of his wounds oozing fresh blood from his panicked struggling. His face was too pale, probably from dehydration and tiredness. Who knew how long he had been laying helpless on the sand awaiting his own demise? He had probably washed up during the storms and been unable to return to the ocean.

Leo could only imagine what it would be like to be stranded so near to a safe place, but too trapped to reach it. Just imagining it made a dark feeling of helplessness rise in his heart, empathy for the creature on the sand in front of him.

The merman gave another slow nod, his eyes wary and quivering muscles tensed to either retreat or lash out. Leo moved closer, not caring when wet sand stuck to his pants. He grasped a bit of the net, easily slicing it through the rope with one pass of the knife. The tight hold it hand on the one of the merman’s arms loosened a bit, revealing the extent of the rope burns on his skin. The ropes were wound tightly around his chest and tail, no doubt making it hard for him to breathe, much less move.

He was doing a good thing.

Leo knew he was doing something right for once as he cut through another portion of the rope, watching it fall away from where it was wrapped around the merman’s abdomen. He took a moment to look over the merman’s tail as he started to carefully cut through the rope there.

The tail was long, covered in flat, gleaming scales that shone an array of blue and grey colors at different angles under the sun, but mostly it was a silver color like that of his hair. The end of it featuring a broad, nearly translucent grey-blue fin. His tail was adorned by other small fins, spines held together by the same thin tissue at the end of his tail. He wanted to touch it, to see what it felt like on his fingers, but he couldn’t allow himself to touch more than the area he had to cut free from the rope. The merman was docile now, but if he made a wrong move he could envision the creature snapping and lashing out.

Still, his tail was beautiful. He was beautiful.

Leo briefly smiled at the thought of bringing the merman for Elise to see. For once he could find her something worth looking at on the shore.

That thought was too naïve though. If Father caught wind of the presence of this merman, the creature would be locked up, used for gains over the underwater kingdom or slaughtered as an example. There was already too much wet and dry blood smeared on the creature’s skin. He couldn’t bear with seeing any more innocent bloodshed.

When he cut through the last portion of the net, he grabbed up all the ropes, tossing the ruined net to the side to be swept away by the ocean before he sheathed his knife.

The merman was sitting up on the sand, rubbing carefully at his arms, wincing as he did so. Leo knew he was still hurt, injured in a way that the ocean would not be forgiving to, but he wouldn’t dare touch the merman without his consent. He couldn’t help with without his permission.

“Thank you,” the merman murmured finally, his voice far deeper than Leo had expected. Those amber eyes met his own then, bright with gratitude despite the pain still etched into his features.

“You- you’re welcome,” Leo stammered, not expecting the words of gratitude from the creature, Rather, he had expected him to bolt for the ocean as soon as he was free, but the merman looked far too weak to move much of anywhere at that moment, “How did you get here?”

“I was-” the merman started before he narrowed his eyes in thought, “I was out hunting, but I was separated from my hunting party. Then there was a storm and I- I woke up here two days ago with that- that _thing_ on me.”

“It’s a net,” Leo offered, “They’re- well, humans use them to catch fish. It tore your skin up a bit because you’re too large for the size of it,” he explained, “Are you in pain?” There was hesitation on the merman’s face at his question. Obviously, anyone would be hesitant to admit to feeling pain in a situation as tense and potentially dangerous as this. Slowly, the merman nodded, his fingers touching some of the bloody scrapes on his sides.

“A bit,” he murmured, “But I will be fine. You have done enough that I could never repay. You didn’t kill me, and you even freed me from that- that _net_.”

“ _Me_? Kill _you_?” Leo echoed, raising an eyebrow, “I was expecting you to kill me,” he huffed out a soft laugh, “Truly, I have never encountered one of your kind before. I expected you to be far more- savage.”

“My people are not savages!” The merman’s voice raised, almost to a yell, and there was fire burning in his eyes, “It was you humans who killed my mother and my father!” He moved to turned away only to let out a pained gasp, grabbing at the scrapes that went across his side as he collapsed onto the sand, whimpering softly.

“Ah! It’s alright, it’s alright. I apologize for the insinuation,” he said quickly, “I was trying to say that you are different from what I had always heard and imagined all my life. I can help with your wounds if you want.” The merman was obviously in pain, whimpering in distress as he clutched at his injuries, his fingers and skin sticky with blood in some places, “Will you let me help you once more? Then we can go our separate ways and pretend as if this never happened.” That would be for the best. If Father found out he had encountered a merman in the flesh and hadn’t done away with it or brought it to him, he would be furious.

“O-okay,” the merman wheezed, shuddering as he tried to move again only to collapse back onto the sand from the pain.

“We probably should go someplace more hidden,” Leo thought out loud. If he had walked up on the merman laying on the sand, who was to say someone else wouldn’t do the same thing? And perhaps anyone else wouldn’t have been as hesitant to obey Father’s orders as he was, “I can take you somewhere safe if you’ll let me,” he said slowly, knowing he would have to carry the merman over dry land to find them someplace more discrete.

The merman only made a quiet sound, a noise of consent as he barely nodded, his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth set in a thin line from the pain he must have been feeling. Hence, Leo was careful as he slid his arms under the merman, holding him close to his chest before he stood, staggering a bit with the girth of his tail, but quickly righting himself.

The merman’s head rested against his shoulder, his long hair falling all around his shoulders and chest, and over Leo’s own arms. He was warm, which was strange in Leo’s mind. Fish themselves were never warm. They were cold and scaly, wet with ocean water, but the merman was warm like a human pressed against him.

Leo gazed down at his face as he walked towards the cliffs, noting how his features were undeniably human. If he didn’t have a tail, he could easily pass for Nohrian if he cut his hair a bit shorter. No one in Nohr had hair as long as that aside from the women after all. Yet, in a way, the length of the merman’s hair was fitting for what he was.

He knew of several small caves hidden in the cliffs that lead to the sea. He figured the merman would be most comfortable in a place like that, one that could keep him connected to his own environment rather than completely stranded on land.

By the time he reached a small, secluded cavern in the rocks, a small pool of water in the center that lead to the ocean, the merman had fallen asleep against his chest, his breaths falling low and even against his neck. He set the sleeping creature down on the soft sand in the cavern, standing and stretching his arms while he decided what to do. The merman had an escape route here. He could easily slip away back to the ocean if he wanted to, or he could wait for Leo to return with some salves and potions from the castle.

Deciding to fulfill his promise whether the merman remained there or not, he slipped from the cave and started quickly for the castle, grabbing up his forgotten boots on the way there.

He reached the castle quickly and put together a basket of salves and potions he could use to tend to the merman’s injuries. When he passed the kitchens on his way out, he grabbed several fish that had been left on a cutting board, knowing the merman was probably hungry after being stranded on land for several days.

The merman was in some sort of state of wakefulness when Leo returned to the cave. His eyes were half-lidded and he was blinking slowly, one of his hands dipping into the pool of cool, ocean water idly.  He startled slightly when he heard Leo coming back, but he settled down again, blinking at him with guarded but curious eyes.

“I’ve brought some medicines to help you,” Leo supplied, setting the basket down, “Unfortunately, healing is something I have never excelled in. That would be my little sister who could heal your wounds quickly. What I brought will do well though as a replacement though.”

“Your little sister?” The merman blinked once before he smiled softly, the first smile that had graced his lips since Leo had found him, “My own younger sister is quite adept at healing in my kingdom.”

“Is that so?” Leo smirked, some amusement coming to his tone, “Perhaps we have more in common than we know then,” he shrugged, starting to rummage through the basket, “These salves will help your wounds heal faster, and I also brought you some fish… O-only if you’re hungry of course,” he mumbled, suddenly feeling embarrassed that he put so much care into helping a creature that could still hurt him, one he didn’t even know the name of, “Do you mind if I ask your name?” Leo said slowly, not wanting to startle the creature or make him think this was going to be some sort of long-term engagement.

“Oh,” the merman said softly, surprise crossing his features, “I don’t suppose we have exchanged greetings, hm? I’m Second High Prince Takumi of Hoshido. And you?” He looked at him so expectantly, and Leo suddenly felt paralyzed.

This merman, _Takumi_ , was a prince, a prince like he was, but a prince of a kingdom that his own Father wanted to destroy.

The father and mother that Takumi had lost, the ones that had been killed by humans… His own Father had murdered Takumi’s parents. Takumi’s parents had cursed their land, and rightly so. He couldn’t tell Takumi who he was, that he was the son of the man that was so committed to killing him and destroying everything he knew

“I’m… Leo,” he said finally, “It’s nice to know your name at least.”

“Leo,” Takumi hummed easily, “That’s a nice name. What is this place you live? What do you call it?”

“Our kingdom?” Leo asked as he uncapped one of the cleansing salves, “It’s the Kingdom of Nohr. And you’re from… Hoshido, you said?”

“That’s right,” Takumi nodded before he winced, pulling his arm away from where Leo had started to smear salve onto some of the rope burns, “Ah… I-it burns,” he frowned, his fingers tentatively touching the wetness of the salve.

“Sorry,” Leo frowned, “It cleans out the injury. It’s not good to get sand in wounds like that.” He waited a moment before Takumi offered out his arm again with some hesitation to his movements. At least the merman trusted him enough to continue with his treatment even if it did sting for a little while.

They fell into calm silence while Leo cleaned Takumi’s wounds. Eventually, he watched the merman reach for one of the fish he brought in the basket, biting into it easily. He supposed that was normal for merpeople to not cook nor prepare their foods in anyway. Then again, he had no idea what their underwater world was like. Perhaps they did have ways of preparing their food, but in dire situations like this one they would just eat the fish whole and raw.

It was interesting. Everything about Takumi was interesting. He was unlike any human Leo had ever come to know. He had had no idea the day would hold an interaction with a merman, and he could have never guessed that they would both come out of it alive. Takumi showed no signs of aggression by the time he was done cleaning and medicating his wounds. Rather, he looked quite tired, his eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

“You can stay here as long as you want,” Leo sighed, putting away what was left of the medicine, “No one will disturb you here, and if by chance anyone ever did, the water leads straight to the ocean.”

“Ah, thank you, Leo,” Takumi said softly, his voice unsure on his words, “I am truly in your debt. I could never repay what you have done for me.”

“Think nothing of it,” Leo smiled softly, “I- I trust you will be alright on your own now?” He asked hesitantly, secretly desiring to return to the cave, to interact with Takumi more. He wanted to learn about him, study him like he studied the books in the castle library. He wanted to learn what his kingdom was like, what his family and people were like. He wanted to learn what made him laugh and what made him smile, what he liked to eat and what he liked to do in his free time.

Takumi was an enigma, a paradox that had proved himself harmless. Without fear of danger, they could learn from each other. Leo wanted desperately to learn him, to gather information to bring to his siblings and the kingdom to show them that merpeople weren’t evil. There couldn’t be any evil contained in Takumi’s eyes. They were too alive with light and good.

And Leo yearned to be near someone that free, that bright and warm.

His siblings were as close as he could come to finding anyone like that, but Takumi was on a whole different level. Takumi wasn’t cursed like the rest of Nohr. He wasn’t riddled with the effects of endless fighting and heartache and hatred. He was free, like the ocean, and Leo needed an influence like that in his life if only to save his own heart.

“You could… You could come back, if you wanted to,” Takumi said quietly after a long pause. He ducked his head, his long hair swaying around him with the movement, “I wouldn’t mind the company while I heal, but if you don’t wish to return here, I would not request it of you.”

“No, that’s-! That’s alright,” Leo said quickly, “I’ll come back… Just to see how you’re doing of course.” He tried for nonchalance, but his front quickly broke with the way Takumi smiled up at him, his eyes hopeful if not excited.

“I’ll be here then,” Takumi nodded, moving to lay down upon the sand again, his tail flicking lightly behind him. Leo gave him a nod waving lightly before he ducked from the cave, his heart hammering in his chest.

Takumi _wanted_ him to return. The thought made him giddy in a way he usually never felt. There was nothing in Nohr that could pull any sort of excitement from his numbed soul, and yet one merman had elicited the response from him. It was a peculiar feeling, but not an unwelcome one, and as he walked back to the castle he allowed himself to relish in the sensation.

When Camilla asked him if he had seen anything interesting at the beach that day, he forced himself to play it down, to not crack a smile. He shook his head and gave a half-hearted shrug, which Camilla accepted easily.

Takumi was his to keep secret, to keep safe and hidden even from his siblings. He felt duty to his Father as they all did, but on this topic he would remain mum, but he couldn’t trust his siblings with such a crushing secret. He wouldn’t do that to them. This was his gift and his burden to bear, and he would accept it wholeheartedly because Takumi was exciting and new and alive.

He fell asleep that night and sank beneath waves of blue ocean in his dreams.

Warm hands touched his skin, cooled by ocean water as they took his own hands and led him to a world anew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading so so so much! I'm dedicated to finishing my other multi-chapter fic right now, but I am already so excited to wrote more for this AU!
> 
> I will update very soon (I write like 200 words a minute it's crazy)
> 
> Thank you for any comments or kudos ahhh they mean so much to me I cry every time ;;;u;;;
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter two! <33


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand here's chapter two! uwu I couldn't believe the number of people who commented and left kudos on chapter one! I'm such a sap for mermaid aus so I'm glad other folks are too! ;u;
> 
> This chapter was originally going to contain much more of what I had planned but I figured it had grown long enough ;u; I never really plan my fics with stuff I'm going to put in each chapter so I don't even know how long this will end up being! 
> 
> Enjoy! <33

Leo woke early the next morning, so early that dawn was only just breaking from the horizon. He felt too anxious to go back to sleep, especially when he knew what the day would hold for him.

Takumi.

He wondered if the merman had slept well in the cave he had left him in. He wondered if Takumi had even remained there through the night. He had seemed anticipatory of Leo’s return, but he was an unknown creature and Leo couldn’t necessarily accept his word as whole truth yet.

Still, the merman hadn’t fled when he had left him in the cavern the first time in order to go back to the castle and get medicine. Perhaps Takumi was truly as interested in him as he was of the merman. He certainly hoped they could learn from each other, perhaps even quell the tension and hatred between their kingdoms.

He dressed quickly that morning before making his way to the kitchens. The cooks had yet to arrive for the day to start preparing breakfast so he snuck several fish out from their stores, knowing Takumi would probably be hungry, as well as some meat and bread for himself in case he spent long enough with Takumi to grow hungry himself later. He slipped into the infirmary next, grabbing two more jars of salve for the merman’s scrapes. It felt like it was his duty to protect him, to heal up his injuries and keep him hidden from his Father.

He would do it too.

He had to. Leo knew he wouldn’t let someone as beautiful as Takumi perish in a bloody death at the hands of his Father.

Father had always kept the merpeople he captured hidden from everyone but Iago, Hans, and Xander, but Leo was sure if he captured a merperson of royalty like Takumi, he would want the entire kingdom to know. His own Father terrified him with the sheer effort he was willing to put in to make an entire species of people suffer, people who were probably more like Takumi than like what Father had always described to him.

It was disgusting, and Leo knew he would do anything in his power to protect Takumi and his people from the background.

After a quick breakfast with his siblings later that morning, he tried to leave the room only for Xander to call after him.

“Are you positive you don’t want to attend Father’s war council today, Leo? It was in my understanding that you had been yearning to go for sometime.” His brother was regarded him with curious but concerned eyes. It was true that when he had been a few years younger he had always begged Xander to attend Father’s councils, but after meeting Takumi he didn’t think he could stomach several hours of Father and his advisers discussing the best ways to destroy the underwater kingdom.

“That’s alright, brother,” he said quickly, “I- I just wanted to do some reading today. I need to catch up on several books.” That seemed to go over well with Xander and his brother gave him a nod and a smile before turning his attention away long enough for Leo to rush from the room.

He gathered up the basket of fish and medicines where he had left it in his room, bringing one of the books he had been reading along with him anyway if only to feel like he was being somewhat truthful to Xander. With that, he threw a cloak around his shoulders and stole away from the castle, making his way to the beach as he had done not even a full day prior.

The sun was dimmer than the previous day. There was already another storm brewing on the horizon. Leo knew the process of Nohrian storms well enough. The next day would be overcast, faint spells of rain throughout the day before the true storm hit the day after and could last for an entire week. It was depressing to think about the coming storms, but the feeling of dread faded as he approached the cavern where he had left Takumi, his heart beat speeding up a bit as he ducked inside.

“Takumi?” he called softly, rounding the rock walls of the cavern to where it opened up to the sandier surface and small pool of water that led to the outside.

The merman in question was fast asleep, his head resting on top of his arms on the sand while his lower body and tail were in the pool of ocean water. Leo tread carefully around him, not wanting to wake him or step on any of his hair that was laying all around him.

He set the basket down the the sand and took off his cloak, spreading it over the ground so he could sit and read while he waited for the merman to wake up.

He didn’t get much reading done at all. His attention kept straying from the pages of his book to the sight of Takumi dozing quietly. Takumi was truly beautiful, his long lashes resting against his soft cheeks where his eyes were peacefully closed, his lips parted as quiet breaths entered and exited his body. Beneath the water, his tail was even more beautiful, shimmering under the light that the water reflected against the scales, the translucence of his fins appearing to glow as the water moved over them in gentle waves.

In that moment, Leo wondered what other merpeople looked like, if they were as striking as Takumi or if he was a rare case. Maybe it was just the novelty of him, the newness of a merman that made Leo unable to describe him in anyway but beautiful, yet something told him Takumi was different, unordinary and nothing close to an average merman.

A quiet sound left Takumi’s throat as he stirred from his sleep, and a second later those wild, amber eyes fluttered open in Leo’s direction, not quite looking at him yet as Takumi blinked sleep from his eyes. After a moment, a gasp left Takumi’s throat and he sat up quickly, a smile coming to his lips.

“Leo!” He smiled wide and bright, and Leo found himself frozen with the sheer force of his light, “You came back!” Takumi sounded so excited to see him, his tail swaying and splashing lightly in the water as he pushed himself up on his strong arms, “I um,” he blushed a bit then, looking away for a moment, “I may have stayed up most of the night anticipating your return… Sorry I was asleep when you got here.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Leo said with a small smile, closing the book in his hand with no need to mark a new page seeing as he hadn’t even flipped to the next, “You are out of your home here in a strange place. I would never awake you if you were getting the rest you need, especially when you need to get energy to heal.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Takumi hummed shyly, finally pulling his gaze back up to meet Leo’s eyes, “I’m still getting used to the reality that humans can be nice,” he admitted.

“And I am still getting used to the idea of you altogether,” Leo laughed in return, tugging the basket between the two of them, “I brought you some fish to eat, and some more medicine that I can put on your scrapes.” The idea of fish seemed to get Takumi’s attention enough that he proceeded to haul his tail up from the water, spraying the dry sand with drops of seawater in the process. He scooted closer on the sand and Leo pushed the basket towards him a bit so he could go through it.

He watched as Takumi pulled the fish from the basket, smiling gratefully at Leo as before his eyes turned questioning.

“What’s this?” he asked, picking up the bundle of cloth that Leo had tied around the bread and meat, “It smells… Strange,” he huffed, wrinkling his nose, “It’s not fish, is it?”

“Oh, no, it’s not,” Leo shook his head quickly, suddenly remembering that the only food items Takumi would know were what lived in the sea, “It’s um… Well, it’s hard to explain,” he started as he untied the knot in the cloth to expose the bread and meat, “This is… Well, it’s meat, but a lot of things can be meat.”

“Meat,” Takumi repeated slowly, his brows still furrowed in confusion, “Where do you get _meat_ from? And how can many things be meat?” This was going to be more difficult to explain than Leo had initially thought. Takumi most likely didn’t even know what land animals were or what they were called, and he doubted the merman would understand when he tried to explain where bread came from.

But this was what he had wanted so desperately. He wanted to share his world with Takumi and have the merman do the same for him. Only then could their two kingdoms start to move on, to heal from the pain of death and constant threat of conquest enforced by his Father.

“It’s the same as many different types of fish,” Leo started to say, hoping he could explain in a way that Takumi could understand better, “There are many different animals that humans kill to get meat from. This meat is from a cow. It’s a type of large land animal. The meat is prepared after so that we can eat it without getting sick. Humans can’t eat raw meat.” Takumi was nodding along with what he was saying, but Leo could tell that most of what he was saying was going over the merman’s head. Takumi still looked pleased though, smiling when Leo was done talking as he reached out to poke at the meat.

“I don’t really understand that well,” he admitted, “But I… I like it when you tell me things about human things. Will you tell me about the- the _bread_ too?” he asked hopefully, settling back on the sand as he picked up a fish into his hands, biting into it without even moving his excited gaze from Leo’s face. He was truly something else, Leo thought. He didn’t know any human, other than Elise, who was that curious and excitable about the simplest of things.

“Of course,” he smiled, “As long as I’m not boring you, I’ll explain whatever you wish.” Takumi nodded hurriedly at that, his mouth full of fish as he chewed and waited for Leo to explain more, “Bread doesn’t come from an animal,” he started, “It’s actually comes from a plant.”

“ _A plant_?” Takumi echoed in surprise, “Like… Like kelp? Or sea lettuce?”

“Ah, well, no,” Leo laughed softly, suddenly imagining how strange a bread would be if it was made of kelp, “It’s from a plant called wheat. The wheat is ground up and then mixed with a few other ingredients before it is prepared with heat just like the meat is.” He hoped that was simple enough to resonate with Takumi, but he doubted that the merman would understand the concept of cooking or baking anytime soon. He hadn’t realized how difficult it was to explain the things he regarded as mundane in life, but whether his explanations were making sense or not, Takumi still looked enthralled by his every word.

“It sounds so interesting,” he finally breathed with more awe than Leo had ever held with regards to bread. Takumi proceeded to set the bony carcass of the fish he had consumed so quickly into the water to be pulled away by the current only to pick up another one, biting into it again, “I always heard that humans were very advanced,” he hummed as he chewed, “Obviously most of my people have never experienced anything like… like bread,” he said as he eyed the food in Leo’s hands for a little too long for Leo to pass off as a passing glance.

He could see the curiosity and desire mixing in Takumi’s intense gaze as he stared at the bread before looking away bashfully.

“Do you want to maybe- try it?” Leo asked out, offering out a small piece of the bread to Takumi.

“Could I?” Takumi gasped in delight, dropping his fish into his lap to reach for the bread quickly, his fingers pausing before he carefully took the bread into his hands, “It’s soft,” he murmured, drawing the slice of bread closer to stroke it at gently with his fingers, “Is it always soft?”

“That kind of bread, yes,” Leo laughed softly, resting his chin on his hand as he watched the scene unfold before him, “But if it’s exposed to the air long enough, it can turn harder.” It was truly fascinating the way Takumi touched something so simple with such reverence, as if he could damage the bread beyond repair if he only pressed a little too hard to the surface of it. He watched as Takumi hesitantly raised the bread to his mouth, taking a tiny bite before he chewed slowly.

“It’s… It’s good!” Takumi said gleefully as he swallowed the bite he took, smiling brightly at Leo, “Can I… Can I eat the rest of this, o-or do you want it back?” He thrust the piece of bread back at him before Leo could answer the question, laughing softly as he nudging Takumi’s hand back towards him instead.

“You have it,” he said gently, “I have plenty more back at the ca- at home,” he correctly quickly. He couldn’t admit to Takumi that he lived in a castle when he hadn’t told he was royalty, and he didn’t know if he ever would. The merman had been so passionately furious about the death of his parents in the short moment he mentioned it on the beach, and he feared that if Takumi knew of his true origins, the merman would want nothing to do with him.

He couldn’t lose Takumi. He couldn’t lose him before he had learned more of him.

Takumi finished eating the second fish quickly after he ate the bread and Leo was content to simply watch him. After he was finished eating, he allowed Leo to spread the medicine over his injuries again. The scrapes and cuts had started to heal well with the aid of the salve, scabbing over and even closing up in some places already.

After he finished with the salve, Takumi had discovered the book he brought with him. He spent a while explaining to Takumi exactly what a book was as well as he could, but he found he had the same problem as with the food in terms of describing something that seemed so simple to him but so strange and new to Takumi. Nonetheless, the look of wonder on Takumi’s face seemed to never end, and with it the heightened beating of his own heart whenever he saw that marvel reflected in the merman’s eyes.

Eventually, he knew he had to head home or his siblings would start questioning where he was. He left two more fish with Takumi in case he grew hungry during the night before he stood to leave, draping his cloak over his shoulders again after shaking sand from it.

“Leo! Wait!” Takumi suddenly gasped before he leaving and he felt the merman’s fingers grasp against the cloth of his pants, “I um… You’ll come back tomorrow, right?” he asked softly, “Because I- I feel badly that you have… shared so much with me and I haven’t given you anything in return…” He blinked in surprise at the merman and his quietly spoken words. Truly, all he had done was explain the origins of meat and bread and books to Takumi, but if the merman wanted to enlighten him with details of his own kingdom, Leo wouldn’t protest.

“Of course I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said easily, smiling just at the prospect of it, “Try not to stay up all night waiting for me this time, alright?” Takumi smiled then, the same bright smile that Leo had already started to yearn for even though he had known the merman for barely more than a day. He was the only light in his life at the moment outside the love of his siblings, and he was Takumi’s only company trapped on land while he recovered. They needed each other, but he knew deep down that he needed Takumi far more than the other prince needed him.

One day soon, Takumi would move on, heal completely and leave him, and he would have to accept that simply because it was the will of nature.

He cast a look back over his shoulder before he left the cave, smiling at the way Takumi was watching him leave, laying against the sand with his face hidden in his arms, only his eyes peeking up at him. That sight would leave him soon so he made sure to imprint it to memory, to think about it enough so he would never forget.

* * *

The weather permitted him to easily return to the cavern on the beach for the next two days, but he even trekked to the shore when it was raining hard, bringing fish, other foods, and items for Takumi to explore. He had brought him vegetables and fruit, and Takumi had shown far more favor to fruit over vegetables, which Leo had expected honestly.

He had introduced him to books with far less words than the book he had had before, filled with more pictures and drawings, which Takumi had been extremely excited about.  He had actually slipped the books out from Elise’s quarters, but he knew she wouldn’t miss them since they were older, covered in a thin layer of dust from disuse. Takumi could clearly get more enjoyment out of the picture books right now so he left the books in a basket in the cave with him for when he wanted to look through them.

They spent hours just going through the books. Takumi was so perceptive of every bit of information Leo could offer him. He would say the names of animals, plants, or trees out and allow Takumi to repeat them, taking in the way the merman’s fingers traced the pictures in the books so gently, his eyes wide with wonder. It warmed Leo’s heart whenever he saw Takumi smile or light up with understanding about human things. Slowly, he could tell that they were building a bridge between their very different worlds.

As promised, Takumi had answered his questions about his own kingdom easily and in more detail than Leo could even have imagined.

“What is your kingdom like?”

That had been his first question, and it had taken Takumi a moment or two to think about it before answering.

“Well, it’s really big, but quite spread out,” the merman started, “Lots of people live in the rocks and in reefs, and the castle where my siblings and I live is hidden, but parts of it are above the water too,” he hummed. The last part surprised Leo a bit. He had never even considered that the Hoshidan kingdom was anything but completely submerged, “People do various things. Some people are in the army, and then some are hunters, and some make things,” he explained.

“What about your siblings?” Leo asked, “What are they like? How many do you have?” Takumi looked even more pleased to talk about his siblings, his tail slapping the pool of water he was laying in lightly before he spoke.

“I have three siblings. I’m the third eldest,” he stated, “There’s my big brother, Ryoma. He’s the king of our people. He was high prince for the longest time until he was old enough to be king after… After mother and father were gone,” he murmured, and Leo hated the way Takumi’s eyes darkened when speaking about his parents, “But he’s a great ruler! I have two sisters too, Hinoka and Sakura. Hinoka is older than me and she trains a lot of the army, and Sakura is younger than me.”

“She’s a healer, right?” Leo said then, “You mentioned it once before,” he smiled when Takumi suddenly looked confused as to how he could have known.

“She is,” Takumi hummed, “Sorry, I forgot I told that to you,” he laughed sheepishly, running a hand through his hair, “That day seems so long ago, doesn’t it?”

“Only a little over a week really,” Leo smiled, “But yes, I suppose it does seem like it has been a while.” It was quiet in the cave after that and from the faraway look in Takumi’s eyes, he could tell the merman was thinking deeply about something, something he didn’t know if he wanted to inquire about or not.

“I should,” Takumi started before he frowned and let out a tiny sigh, “I should go home,” he murmured, “I have my strength back, and the cuts from the net are mostly healed… I should go home, shouldn’t I?” Leo didn’t know if the question was rhetorical or not, but he wanted the answer to be _no_. He wanted Takumi to stay there, to stay waiting for him so he would always have someone to come back to, someone who he had begun to adore and who fascinated him.

But Takumi didn’t belong here.

Leo had been noticing the last few days that Takumi’s gaze would linger on the ocean, staring out at the blue water with longing in his eyes. He wasn’t meant to be here, to be on land kept away from the sea.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to protest, to beg him to stay. Deep down, he knew Takumi belonged in the ocean with his family, but he wanted Takumi to belong with him too.

“I,” he started, swallowing around the lump he found had risen to his throat, “I think you should go home then. You’ve been here longer than I had ever anticipated. I wouldn’t want to keep you from your home, or the ones who love you,” he trailed off, staring down at his knees, “You belong out there.” There was quiet in the cave then, only the sound of water dripping causing any shift in the silence. He couldn’t bring himself to look up at Takumi only to see whatever emotion would be reflected in his eyes. If Takumi were to swim away and leave right that second, that would be easiest. He could get the answer quickly then.

A loud splash greeted his ears a moment later and he jerked his head up only for his arms to suddenly be full of merman. He felt back onto the soft sand, feeling the wetness from Takumi’s body soaking quickly into his clothes as the merman buried his face into his chest, gripping onto his shirt tightly.

“Ta-Takumi?” he gasped in alarm, instinctively wrapping his arms around the merman without even thinking, “What’s wrong?”

“You!” Takumi said loudly then, “You’re wrong!” He picked up his head then and Leo could see tears brimming in his amber eyes, “How could you think that- th-that I would just want to leave and never see you again!” It wasn’t really a question so Leo didn’t answer, only blinking up at the merman in shock, “My family is important to me, my people are important to me, but you- you’re important to me too, Leo!” He could see how Takumi’s lower lip was quivering before the merman pressed his face to his chest again, “Don’t act like you’re nothing to me,” Takumi whispered, and Leo could feel his lips through his clothes.

“I’m sorry,” he finally breathed out, letting himself relax into the sand seeing that Takumi wasn’t moving off of him, “I’m sorry I’ve upset you, I wouldn’t mind it at all, seeing you again,” he admitted, tightening his arms around Takumi’s shoulders, “You… You’re important to me.”

“Truly?” Takumi murmured, raising his head a bit so his eyes met Leo’s, hopeful but wary.

“Of course,” Leo smiled then, unable to stop himself from threading his fingers into Takumi’s hair, stroking the long, wet locks soothingly, “I find myself in awe of you. I admit that maybe I may even be captivated by you to an extent I have never felt before.

“I- that’s,” Takumi stammered suddenly, his cheeks growing red as he ducked his gaze away, “That’s good,” he mumbled, clearly bashful from Leo’s words.

“Why don’t you go home for a few days,” Leo suggested after a long while, his fingers still playing lightly in Takumi’s hair, “And then we can meet back up together here then. It’ll be like nothing ever changed,” he smiled, looking down at where Takumi had shyly hidden his face in his shirt, “How about that?”

“That sounds good,” Takumi hummed and Leo felt the vibration of it deep into his own chest, resounding with the beat of his heart.

“You are going to have to get off of me if you want to go home,” he teased gently, poking Takumi’s cheek. The merman raised his head slowly, a sleepy look in his eyes as he blinking as if he forgot he was even laying on top of Leo.

“Sorry,” he yawned, placing his arms on either side of Leo’s body to push himself up, sliding backwards into the water a bit. Leo instantly regretted his words. He missed Takumi’s warmth, the firm press of his body against his own, but his head was filled with the knowledge that Takumi would be back soon. This wasn’t the last they would see each other.

They would be together again.

“It’s getting dark out. I should go,” Takumi said as he slid backwards into the water, arching his back to stretch out his muscles.

“Right,” Leo said quickly, pushing himself up off the sand as well, dusting off his clothes, “But I’ll see you in… Three days? Right?”

“Right!” Takumi smiled, “Three days… And um, Leo?” His voice became small, tentative and hopeful, and Leo couldn’t help but indulge him.

“What?”

“Could you maybe um… Bring some sort of the- the oranges, like before?” he asked shyly, “I really liked those ones.”

Leo laughed then, loud and light into the cavern as he nodded to Takumi, taking in the merman’s smile in return. He promised and then watched as Takumi sank under the water, gliding from the cave too easily, as if the resistance of the water was nothing to him.

He was left alone then to carry back the books and trinkets he had brought Takumi, but he knew he would venture to the place in three day’s time to see the merman again, and that made the pile of books seem lighter than air in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading chapter two!!! I'll have chapter three out far sooner than this chapter came out. I got really into writing two other chapters for my other chaptered fic in the meantime. 
> 
> So many things to write, so little time ;A; But thank you for your patience! <3
> 
> Any comments and/or kudos are super duper duper appreciated!!! <3 They make my day/week/month! ;u;
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter three! >wo


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I got caught up in Leokumi week and my summer classes started this week too ;n; I'll be a little slower with updates until at least after my shorter of the two classes I'm taking is over in the beginning of June, so I hope this 6k word chapter appeases everyone for now! 
> 
> Enjoy! <3

Three days seemed like an eternity to Leo, especially when he knew that at the end of that three-day period he would get to see Takumi again. He was restless, too out of sorts to even sit down and focus his attention on a book. He occupied some of his time by playing with Elise, but even she could tell that his heart wasn’t truly into teatime or dress-up.

Which of course sent her running to Camilla, who in turn cornered him in a hall and asked if he had found a _lover_ to occupy his thoughts. He had sputtered something about making a new friend and that had seemingly satisfied her, but she still continued to send him knowing looks whenever they passed each other in the castle halls or sat across from each other at dinner.

Perhaps he did feel something more than just friendship for Takumi, but they had gone beyond friendship when they first found each other, or when he had found Takumi rather.

When he had _saved_ Takumi from whatever fate would have awaited him laying on the beach, trapped in a net.

It was as he had told Takumi: the other prince absolutely captivated him. Everything about Takumi was enthralling, the way he moved and smiled and laughed, the way he absorbed everything Leo taught him about as if each thing was something so sacred in the world rather than something mundane. He was truly the brightest person Leo had ever met, and he didn’t even want to think of scaring him away with the prospect of anything more than friendship.

The three days passed eventually despite Leo’s roaring thoughts. He got up early the morning of the day he would see Takumi again, knowing he had thought of dozens of things over the course of three days he could bring to Takumi. The merman had requested oranges however so he made sure to sneak three of the citrus fruits from the kitchens, stowing them away in a small basket. He didn’t have to bring Takumi fish anymore since the merman was mobile once again and could hunt for himself, but that left room for him to bring other things for him to explore.

Yet when he tried to decide what to bring to Takumi, he couldn’t think of anything in particular. He was just too excited for the continuation of their conversations and just the presence of the merman.

With that, he left the castle to the cave with only the oranges and a few other foods he had thought Takumi may like to try, more looking forward to Takumi’s company than anything else. He walked the way to the beach slowly just in case he came upon Takumi in the same predicament as the first time, but he doubted he would make the same mistake twice. As he ducked into the cave, he was met with only the soft sound of the waves from the tide pool lapping at the sand. It was rather early in the morning so he settled down into the sand to wait, knowing Takumi would keep his promise to arrive.

True to his word, the water’s current shifted after a little while and Leo watched as Takumi’s lithe body swam quickly into the pool before he surfaced, his wet hair falling all around him as water streamed over his face. He shook himself off a bit, smiling brightly at Leo when he had blinked the water from his eyes.

He was different from before, now donning an intricate necklace of gold, pearls, and reddish stones that spread over his breastbone and lay evenly across his shoulders. It was obviously something that regular merpeople didn’t wear, far too regal and lavish for anyone but royalty.

“Leo,” Takumi’s voice took his gaze away from his accessory to his face instead. He met Takumi’s eyes and smiled easily at the endless sunlight that seemed to radiate from the merman, “I missed you quite a bit,” Takumi admitted then, moving forward to pull himself up more out of the water, his body dripping onto the sand.

“And I- missed you as well, Takumi” Leo found himself saying easily. He had missed Takumi too much to deny the whole truth of it after all, “Have you been well?”

“After I managed to convince my siblings that I was fine after being missing for a week,” Takumi laughed and nodded, “I’m perfectly alright.”

“That’s good,” Leo hummed, “I’m relieved.” He couldn’t help the want to touch the necklace then, reaching forward to just graze the small mesh of pearls that laid across Takumi’s shoulder, “What’s this? You didn’t have it before,” he observed softly, touching the stones with careful reverence.

“Oh,” Takumi blinked as if he hadn’t even noticed he was wearing the elaborate decoration, “Well, it’s like- remember when you taught me that your royalty wear um… Crowns?” he asked out, blinking his wet eyelashes up at Leo to make sure he was correct, “This is just a showing that we’re royalty, like crowns for humans,” he said simply, shrugged one shoulder, “My sisters wear jewelry like this, and my brother does too but his has less pearls and stuff,” he admitted, suddenly looking a bit bashful, “My mother used to wear this… Hinoka gave it to me because mother and I were rather close, and because this would get in the way of her training,” he laughed lightly, his fingers touching the adornment slowly.

“It’s beautiful,” Leo murmured before he could help himself, his fingers still stroking over the mesh at Takumi’s shoulder lightly before he realized what he was doing, whisking his hand away, “I brought you what you asked for,” he said quickly before he could further embarrass himself with his compliments to Takumi, “Here,” he smiled, offering one of the oranges he brought to the merman.

“You remembered!” Takumi gasped in delight, taking the orange from Leo’s palm and turning onto his side so he could use both hands in peeling away the rind like Leo had taught him, “Mm… These are my favorite of human foods,” he said decidedly, giving a firm nod and a bright smile up at Leo as he chewed a slice of the orange.

“You’ve tried maybe a handful of human foods,” Leo laughed, “Don’t set your heart on oranges just yet.” He teased just to see Takumi’s cheeks flush a bit. It was worth it too, and maybe he should’ve been wary of getting to attached to the merman, too adept to reading his emotions, but he couldn’t stop himself. Takumi was so open to him and he just wanted to make himself as available to Takumi as well so they could be equals.

“Did you bring other things?” Takumi asked curiously, setting down the half of orange that was left in his hand to tug the basket over, peering inside it, “What’s this?” He questioned, pulling out the small bit of chocolate Leo had wrapped in paper, “It smells,” he hummed, sniffing it at gingerly, “Warm…” he decided, furrowing his eyebrows in a way that made Leo smile, “What is it?”

“That’s chocolate,” Leo took it gently from his hands, unwrapping it slowly and breaking a piece off for the merman, “It’s made from a kind of plant too.”

“Like bread?” Takumi asked excitedly, his fingers carefully accepting the piece of chocolate from Leo’s palm.

“Well, not really,” Leo said slowly, “I don’t really know quite how it’s made, but there’s more sugar and ingredients different from bread involved. Try it,” he encouraged.

“Okay,” Takumi started before he yelped, “Ah! It’s- i-it’s _melting_ ,” he frowned, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no,” Leo laughed, soothing the alarmed merman gently. He could see where the chocolate had started to smear over Takumi’s fingers from the heat of his skin. It was fascinating to see someone with Takumi level of innocence encountering something like chocolate for the first time, and he truly wanted him to enjoy it, “It just reacts to heat more quickly than other things do, more quickly than ice for example. But it will taste the same.”

Takumi regarded him with hesitance in his eyes but he still raised the chocolate to his lips, biting a small piece off. He squeaked in alarm, and Leo watched his throat work, swallowing twice before he looked up at Leo with surprise in his eyes.

“It melted on my tongue!” he grinned, “That’s amazing, Leo!” He easily scarfed down the rest of the piece, even going to the trouble of licking the melted chocolate off his fingers.

“I take it you liked it then?” Leo asked, forcing himself to look away as Takumi sucked the last bits of chocolate from his hand, the sight of which sent heat into his own cheeks, “There’s more if you want it,” he offered, holding out his hand to Takumi.

“Yes, please!” Takumi beamed up at him, taking up just one more piece of the chocolate, clearly wanting to leave Leo with some, which was silly considering Leo had as much of the sweet as he could want back home, but Takumi couldn’t get it underwater. Still, he admired the merman’s selflessness and set the paper holding the chocolate down on the sand within Takumi’s reach, “It really is good,” the merman continued as he ate his second piece in smaller nibbles, “It’s so sweet, and- and… um, like the- the _cheese_ that one time!”

“Creamy?” Leo offered, a huff of laughter leaving his throat then.

“Mhm!” Takumi nodded, his fingers back in his mouth as he licked away the chocolate,” Thank you, Leo,” he said quietly after that, looking down shyly, “Thank you for bringing things for me. It’s so sweet of you,” he murmured, raising his gaze slowly before he leaned forward, and Leo felt the warm press his lips lips to his own cheek and he could smell the sweet scent of chocolate on his breath.

His skin burned when Takumi’s lips had been just for a second, and then both his cheeks burned red, hot with embarrassment and sheepish desire. Takumi didn’t look much different, his cheeks a bright red but a tiny smile on his lips as he busied himself with peeling off another slice of orange.

“You don’t- have to thank me,” he finally stammered out, clearing his throat quickly, “I enjoy bringing things to you. I like sharing with you.”

“Then I’ll share with you too!” Takumi said not even a second later, “I promise! Next time we meet! I’ll bring you things too, Leo!” He nodded his head firmly, “Hoshido is such a nice place. I wish you could come there. I wish you could swim with me.”

“I don’t think your people would approve of a human just swimming into their kingdom,” Leo smiled, “And I have to admit, I’m not terribly skilled at swimming. My older brother cannot even swim at all.” Father was always so adamant that learning to swim was a dangerous step towards becoming closer to merpeople, but Camilla could swim a bit and she had taught him and Elise how to in turn, but Xander was always a bit of a failure in that aspect. At least he could beat his brother in that.

“That’s… That’s awful, Leo,” Takumi whispered and Leo looked up to see the merman looking absolutely stricken with misery, his eyes wide and terrified, “Not being able to swim- that’s- that’s just _awful_.” The pain and horror in Takumi’s eyes at just the notion of being unable to swim was staggering. Obviously, merpeople swam as their main form of mobility, but Leo hadn’t truly comprehended in his mind how vital it was to Takumi. Humans who were unable to walk could still get around with wheeled chairs and other supports, but without the ability to swim, a merperson would probably die.

“It’s not that bad for humans, I promise you that,” Leo soothed quickly, scooting forward on the sand to rest a gentle touch against Takumi’s hand, “We don’t have to swim to get around. Rather, my- _the king_ is quite against humans learning to swim. He decreed that it puts us closer to your kind, and then more likely to sympathize with- with the enemy.” He trailed off at the end, frowning when he felt Takumi stiffen with the force of his words, “You’re not the enemy to me though. You’re- we’re-”

What were they though?

Friends seemed like an insult; acquaintances even more so.

He didn’t know what to say so he just looked forward to Takumi’s eyes, imploring him to answer so he wouldn’t have to.

“We’re,” Takumi murmured, “We’re close.” His hand moved under Leo’s touch, fingers tightening around his own, and Takumi smiled, “We’re closer than friends, more than friends.”

“That sounds good to me,” Leo nodded, relief settling in over his heart when Takumi didn’t describe them as anything less, “That’s perfect.” There was silence after that, but it was comfortable, quiet and slow, accented only by the soft sounds of the waves lapping at the sand.

“I’m going to take you swimming,” Takumi broke the silence a bit later, “I may not be able to show you my kingdom, but I can still take you with me, under the water. Won’t that be fun?” He smiled wide, expectant and pleased with himself.

“There’s only one problem with that,” Leo said gently, not wanting to break the delight in Takumi’s expression, “I can’t breathe underwater, you know.”

“Of course I know that,” Takumi scoffed, rolling his eyes, “My people- we all possess a certain level of magic. You said you’re good at magic, right? Well, truthfully, I’m not,” he admitted, “But, even people like me who aren’t very good can at least make those incapable of doing so breathe under water. It’s a simple spell, and it’s one of the two things I can do with magic before it fails.”

“Really?” Leo blinked in surprise, “What else can you do?”

“Well, all of my people have the ability to become human in appearance of course,” he said with a shrug.

“What?” Leo gasped in surprise, “What do you mean?

“Exactly what it sounds like. We can look like you do, like humans. With legs and stuff.” He said it with such nonchalance, as if it was nothing to just be able to shed a tail, grow a pair of legs, and walk out of the water as if human, “I’ve never done it though,” Takumi continued, “None of my people have since mother and father were killed,” he frowned, “Big brother said it was too dangerous for us to go on land anymore. Humans with magic who knew of our existence could easily shift us back, and then we would be captured by the human king.” Leo felt the shudder than went through Takumi’s body when thinking of the king, his own Father, the Father he had yet to mention to Takumi.

There was no way he could, not now, not ever. Takumi was already so plainly terrified of Nohr’s king. Leo could only imagine how that fear would increase if Takumi knew of his relation to the man.

Takumi would never come back, would never grace Leo with one of his sweet smiles on anymore gentle kisses to his cheek.

He didn’t know if he could live without those things after experiencing them once. Takumi was too addictive to just let him go forever into the water.

“I think you should do whatever you can to stay safe then,” Leo smiled, stroking his thumb over the back of Takumi’s hand, “I wouldn’t want you to be in danger because of me.”

“You don’t get to back out of swimming with me so easily,” Takumi said, a smile spreading slowly over his lips, “You thought you could, but you _can’t_ ,” he giggled then, leaning forward to nuzzle up under Leo’s chin and suddenly Takumi was wrapped around him again and his arms were full of merman. He didn’t mind in the slightest. He enjoyed holding Takumi close. It still amazed him that the other boy was so _warm_ , but Leo figured it was probably cold in the deeper ocean waters.

He simply held Takumi then for the next long while, tracing the lines of muscle in his back, stroking through his long hair. Takumi seemed quite content, curled into Leo’s arms with his head rested against his chest, nestled up under his chin. It was so natural, and Leo didn’t know how they had come to be so free with each other, but there was no way he was complaining. He couldn’t remember a single time in his life that he had held someone so dearly, but Takumi was a different sort of person. He wasn’t pushy or manipulative like most of the humans Leo know, and that was what made him special.

That was why he loved him.

The thought flashed through his mind, but the shock wore off too quickly for Takumi to even notice that he had tensed slightly for a moment.

He _loved_ Takumi. The merman in his arms was so precious to him. It wasn’t some sort of infatuation with his species either; if Takumi was human, he would feel the same. He wanted to smile, to laugh, to squeeze Takumi tighter at his realization, but Takumi looked too comfortable in his arms, his eyes closed and lips parted, his fingers in a loose grip on Leo’s shirt, and he knew he didn’t have it in his heart to disturb him.

Eventually, when the sun was starting to lower into the sky, he gave Takumi a gentle shake, combing fingers through his hair slowly to rouse him.

“Hmm?” Takumi greeted him with a quiet sound as his eyes fluttered open. He tilted his head back a bit, blinking up at him with confusion but also comfort in his eyes, “Leo? I feel asleep?”

“You did,” Leo laughed, “But the sun is starting to go down. I figured you should head home before dark.”

“Oh! Right, of course,” Takumi smiled, pulling away a bit so he could stretch his arms over hid head, “Mm… Sorry I fell asleep. It’s just that- sometimes I don’t sleep well at home…” Leo hated the way his eyes darkened at the mention of his sleeping habits and he shook his head quickly.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said before Takumi could apologize more, “I don’t care what we do with our time together as long as I get to spend time with you. If you need to sleep, I’ll hold you as long as you want.” He said the words before he could stop himself, but he knew he wouldn’t take them back, and Takumi didn’t seem to be anything other than pleased at his admittance.

“Thank you, Leo,” the merman smiled, “I’m very grateful to have you, more than I could possibly say with words alone.”

“That’s-” Leo choked, feeling his cheeks burn a bit with the bluntness of Takumi’s words combined with the earnest adoration in his gaze, “I- I feel the same, Takumi,” he coughed, clearing his throat before he smiled at the merman, “Be safe heading home, alright? And we’ll meet here again in… Two days?” Takumi gave him a firm nod and another smile before he slipped into the water, waving and looking back over his shoulder once before he disappeared from the cave.

Leo watched the water for a long moment before he sighed softly, gathering up the whatever was left in the cave before he headed home.

Two days.

* * *

Since Takumi had mentioned swimming, Leo made sure to bring a change of clothes with him when he ventured to the cave two days later. He was nervous about the proposition, but at the same time he hadn’t stopped imagining what Takumi would look like completely submerged under water. He would finally be able to see Takumi in the environment he was made to be in, surrounded by water and completely at home in it. The idea of it made his heart beat faster and he walked even more quickly down the length of the beach to the cave. It was a warm day, and the sun had broken through the clouds at bit so he knew he wouldn’t freeze to death if he went in the water. That was good at least, considering he wasn’t too confident in his swimming skills.

When he reached the cave, Takumi was already there waiting for him, his body laying in the pool of water as he traced swirls in the sand with his fingers.

“Leo!” The smile Leo had come to adore lit up over the merman’s face and he quickly sat up, “Did you bring extra clothes?” he gasped in surprise when his eyes landed on the bundle of cloth, “Does that mean you’ll really swim with me?”

“Yes, yes,” Leo laughed, “It’s nice to see you too, Takumi.” Takumi smiled sheepishly, clearly realizing his own overexcitement.

“I brought you something,” he said that, beaming at Leo as he set down his clothes and sat on the sand.

“Really?”

“Well, of course. You always bring me human things so I wanted to bring you something too, like I promised before,” Takumi admitted, “Here.” He held out his hand then, and Leo blinked in surprise at the flat, bulbous shellfish in his palm.

“You brought me… A clam?”

“No!” Takumi laughed, snickering a bit, “It’s an _oyster_.”

“Oh,” Leo said dumbly, raising an eyebrow as he reached out for it, “Thank you. It’s… Nice?” His words sent Takumi into a fit of laughter, his tail splashing in the water as he covered his mouth with his palms, “What’s so funny?”

“You,” Takumi huffed, rolling his eyes, “For all the things you see in your _books_ , you don’t know what you’re supposed to do with it?”

“Um… Eat it?” Leo guessed plainly, raising an eyebrow in Takumi’s direction only to watch as the merman fell into more laughter, “Just tell me then!”

“Do you have the knife you had before?” Takumi asked, “You should open it.”

“Alright,” Leo shrugged, pulling the small knife from his pocket and sliding it between the bivalve’s shells, carefully moving it around the circumference of the shellfish before he heard a crack and the two shells split open in his palm. He blinked at the pale brown colored insides of animal, raising an eyebrow at Takumi as the merman pulled himself forward.

“Right here?” Takumi hummed, pressing his fingers against an off-white lump in the shell, “That’s the part that makes the shell,” he smiled before he reached for Leo’s fingers, grasping them in his own and pressing them to the flesh, “There.” Leo narrowed his eyes when his fingers felt something hard containing in the wet tissue and he carefully jabbed the knife into the matter, squeezing out a round, dark pearl, a kind he had only seen in books or lighter in color and adorning Takumi’s shoulders.

“This is,” he murmured, rolling the dark orb between his fingers, “You found this for me?” He asked quietly, raising his gaze to Takumi’s face.

“Of course,” Takumi all but beamed at him, “I had to find something perfect for you, Leo, since you’re so kind to me.”

“I-” Leo heard himself choke out before he smiled down at Takumi’s face, “Thank you, Takumi. It’s beautiful, and I’ll cherish it.” He watched as Takumi’s cheeks flushed under the force of his words and he tucked the pearl away in his coat pocket.

“Are we going to go swimming now?” Takumi asked, “Hurry and take off your clothes, Leo!”

Alright, alright!” Leo huffed, shaking his head with a laugh as he shucked off his jacket and raised his arms to pull his tunic over his head, folding it neatly before he set it on the sand, “You promise you won’t let me drown, right?” He meant it as a teasing remark, but the look of horror that crossed briefly over Takumi’s face told him the jest wasn’t taken too lightly by the merman.

“I would never let you go, Leo,” Takumi said lowly, his eyes darkening with the seriousness of this tone, “You will be safe. If you trust me enough to put your life in my hands, I will protect it as if it were my own. I swear that to you.”

“Okay,” Leo breathed, feeling his heart hammering against his ribcage at the force of Takumi’s proclamation, “I trust you.” Slowly, he moved forward, slipping into the water and grasping Takumi’s hands. The water wasn’t too cold, and Leo was sure it would be warmer under the sun. Takumi gripped his hands tightly, drawing him farther out from the edge of the pool of water.

“When we go underwater, I can cast the spell to make you breathe,” Takumi explained, “So take a deep breath, and I’ll take us outside.” Leo nodded at his words, pulling as much air into his lungs as possible before Takumi’s strong arm wrapped around him, pulling him under. He felt Takumi’s tail skimming against his legs as the merman propelled them from the cave, stopping in a patch of clear, ocean water. He blinked open his eyes and Takumi was in front of him, holding him suspended in the water, a gentle smile on his lips.

Before he could take even more time to observe how Takumi looked completely submerged, he became aware of the burning pressure in his lungs and Takumi was moving forward, holding him from behind with one arm before he placed his hand at his throat. He watched as Takumi’s eyes closed in concentration, his brow furrowing, and then he felt a rush of something pass from Takumi’s hand into his throat, flooding down into his chest and lungs.

He recognized it immediately as magic, simple and certainly not as strong as his own, but it would do the job.

“Did it work?” Takumi’s voice came to him them, his eyes open again and blinking at him in worry.

“Y-yes, I believe so,” he said slowly, allowing himself to breath naturally, in and out, as if he was suspended in air rather than water.

“That’s good,” Takumi’s shoulders visibly relaxed in relief and a soft smile come over his lips, “I’m so glad you’re here with me, Leo.”

“And I’m glad I can make you happy by being here,” Leo smiled back, reaching out to pass his fingers through Takumi’s hair in awe. The long, silvery stands were suspended in the water, moving slowly with the current, surrounded the merman that was still holding him close. Under the water, Takumi’s tail shone so brightly, reflecting the rays of light that beamed from the surface, sparkling so many colors that Leo knew he could never hope to name before they were changed by the sun’s light. If Takumi was beautiful on the surface of land, he was even more magnificent underwater.

“There’s a reef near here that my people don’t go to,” Takumi said excitedly then, “Want to go there?”

“I’ll go wherever you want to take me,” Leo murmured before he could stop himself, but he didn’t take back the words. They were in Takumi’s domain, and he knew whatever the merman would show him would be beautiful.

“Okay!” Takumi smiled, wrapping his arms around him again before he launched himself forward in the water at a speed Leo hadn’t anticipated coming from him. Yet, it was appropriate. Takumi was strong, the scales of his tail a covering to only pure muscle, and Leo knew then that his tail was built for speed in the water.

They reached the reef Takumi had been talking about quickly, and Leo blinked in shock at the expanse of color all around them. Small, colorful fish flitted about in the water, darting between masses of brightly colored coral and other waving animals and plants, the kinds of which Leo had only seen as old drawings in books. The books couldn’t truly capture the life and color of what he was seeing as Takumi slowly swam them through the reef on his back with Leo held tight on top of his chest.

“It’s amazing, Takumi,” he finally breathed, blinking once quickly so he wouldn’t miss a second of the place, “I had no idea there was this much- _life_ under the ocean, that it was this bright and colorful.”

“I’m glad I could show it to you,” Takumi hummed happily and he felt the merman nuzzling at his cheek then, giving him a quick squeeze, “I like coming here a lot. It’s quiet and peaceful, too far from my kingdom to be frequent traversed by anyone else. It’s nice, and I- I have been wanting to share it with you for a while now.”

“Truly?” Leo smiled, finally pulling his gaze away to look down at Takumi, “I’m glad you brought me here then.” He smiled and leaned forward, faltering for a second before he pressed his lips to Takumi’s own, feeling how they were soft and wet and cool. Takumi didn’t move for a movement before he righted their bodies into a more vertical position, reaching up to rest a hand on the back of Leo’s head, and Leo felt his lips move then, moving against his own, slow and careful.

Takumi tasted like _freedom_ , like the life that lived beneath the waves, like the joy of being alive, the wonder of being free, and Leo was certain then that he was _addicted_ , wholly and completely. He tangled his fingers into Takumi’s hair, gently showing the merman how to tilt his head, pressing their lips and bodies closer, _closer_. It felt so right, suspended in the water with colorful life dancing around them, finally tasting the lips of the boy he had come to adore far too quickly.

When they separated, Takumi’s cheeks were flushed bright red despite the coolness of the water around them. Leo could feel how his heart was beating under his hands, fluttering beneath his skin at a rate like that of his own.

“Why did you… do that?” Takumi asked softly, not affronted at all, but rather shy, a quiver to his quiet words.

“Because I have wanted to for a while,” Leo shrugged, “Because I- I find I care for you more than you know, but hopefully you know now, right?”

“Right,” Takumi murmured, blinking twice before he smiled, “I’m glad.”

They floated among the masses of coral then for a long while, until the hazy, bright spot of the sun above the water started to fall, headed toward the horizon, and Takumi suggested, albeit sadly, that they go back to the shore.

When they parted at the cave, they did so with a kiss rather than a simple waving of hands, and Leo didn’t know if he had ever felt more complete.

His siblings inquired about his mood, the brightness that seemed to be in his eyes even on stormy days, and he passed it off as nothing.

But it wasn’t nothing.

Takumi wasn’t nothing.

He was _everything_.

Leo continued to embark to the cavern on the shore for weeks into the future, meeting up with Takumi to share food and kisses and naps in the peace of their own private world, a small space they had dug out for themselves between the clashing natures of their kingdoms.

It was starting to rain as he went down the shore to meet Takumi one day a month or so later, but the rain never bothered him before. Not even the forces of nature could keep him from going to see Takumi.

When he entered the cave, Takumi wasn’t there, which was odd because Takumi had become the one of the two of them who arrived in their hiding place first, but if the stormy weather was hampering his arrival, Leo would wait.

And he did wait.

He waited for hours, through he couldn’t truly time it with the sun obscured by storm clouds, and after a while, the rain was coming down hard, lightning tearing through the dark clouds that made up the angry sky, followed by the shuddering boom of thunder. He knew any longer and he would have to stay in the cave until the storm stopped, and he knew Xander would send people looking for him, and perhaps even come to find him himself. With that, he sighed, knowing he had to leave, but he left the bundle of fruit he had brought Takumi on the rocks to show the merman that he had been there.

As he ran back to the castle, his cloak held over his head to avoid the pouring rain, he felt something akin to uneasiness settling in his heart, a feeling he couldn’t quite name.

“Leo! There you are.” He was scarcely inside before Xander’s voice greeted him, calling from down the hall from his room, “Gods, your cloak is soaked Don’t tell me you got caught out in the storm.” His frown was filled with worry and Leo sighed, shucking off the damp article of clothing quickly before it could soak him more.

“I’m fine, brother. It’s just water,” he said to appease him, giving his eyes a roll too to let Xander know that he was alright.

“Fine, but you need to get dried off,” Xander said sternly, “Father wants to see us all in the throne room immediately.”

“What for?” Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He declined to share that information with me, but I urge you not to keep him waiting,” Xander said before he turned on his heel, walking quickly down the hall towards the throne room.

Leo knew from experience not to keep Father waiting so he dressed quickly, scrubbing a towel through his damp hair before quickly brushing it and sliding his headband back into the blond locks. He looked somewhat presentable, but hopefully Father wouldn’t look at him too closely.

He walked swiftly to the throne room then, finding that Elise, Camilla, and Xander were already there, standing besides Father’s throne as he addressed Iago quietly.

“Big brother,” Elise whispered when he fell into place between her and Camilla, tugging at his sleeve, “Your hair is dripping.” She giggled quietly when he playfully swatted her away, smoothing a hand over the back of his own hair to try and flatten down the wetness.

“I was in the bath,” he huffed as an excuse.

“In the middle of the afternoon, dear?” Camilla hummed, her violet eyes sparkling with a teasing light, “How peculiar.”

“ _Shut up_ ,” Leo groaned, shuffling his boots against the carpet as he tried to ignore his sisters’ teasing.

“Bring it in.” His Father’s voice tore his gaze away from his feet and he looked up to the King’s face, a cold feeling washing over him as he watched a grin spread over his lips, his eyes budging with twisted glee. His gaze snapped to the doors of the throne room as they were pushed open by two guards and he heard the sound of chains rattling.

And then he saw long, silver hair.

And blood-stained skin.

He wanted to be sick.

He _desperately_ wanted to be sick then, but he held his composure even as Elise let out a quiet gasp, her small fingers tightening in his sleeve. He didn’t have the will to decide if her gasp was out of fear or something else as his eyes fell onto _Takumi_ being dragged into the room, his wrists in shackles and a chain around his neck that Hans, Father’s lead henchman, was tugging with more than a bruising force, a sick grin on the man’s face.

They came to a stop in front of the stairs that lead up to the throne and Leo could hear Takumi’s hurried breathing from where he stood above him.

“Look at me, _creature_ ,” Father commanded, but Takumi didn’t move, trembling on the floor.

“Look up at your king,” Hans spat, jerking the chain and metal choker around Takumi’s neck to force his head up.

Amber eyes, swimming with tears, were raised to the light then, and when those eyes landed on him Leo felt everything inside him _breaking_. Takumi didn’t make any sort of noise of recognition, but Leo could see it in his eyes.

Betrayal.

And fear.

And _heart-break_.

And then just more _betrayal_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOPS
> 
> feel free to yell at me? ;w; /crawls away
> 
> Thank you for reading though! Any comments and kudos make my Leokumi heart sing! <3
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter 4! >wo


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW OKAY THIS IS LIKE 8K WORDS why do i do this to myself
> 
> Anywayyy, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!! <3 There's some comfort mixed in with all the hurt so I hope that appeases your bleeding souls ;w;
> 
> Enjoy and I'll seeya in the end notes! <3

_“Look at me, creature.”_

_“Look up at your king.”_

_A look of betrayal._

Leo wished he could stop looking.

He wished he could look away, but all he could do in that moment in Father’s court was stare down at Takumi in horror, his stomach wrenching with a strong desire to be sick. Takumi was hurt and in chains, bleeding and captured by the people Leo had wanted to keep him safe from.

And it was _his_ fault.

He had been selfish and now Takumi was as good as dead in the hands of Father. The boy he loved, the one he had come to adore and cherish as both a friend and something more would face the same fate as every other merperson Father had captured over the years.

It truly was his fault. He had done this to Takumi, and now the merman would die a slow, horrible death without seeing his family nor the ocean again, probably without breathing a breath of fresh air again, eating anything remotely decent again, or feeling anything other than physical pain.

It hurt, and his heart ached in a way he had never felt, and he knew that was due to the love he had for the merman, the love that was now shattered and destroyed in Takumi’s eyes by the sheer force of his own selfishness.

How could he had ever thought he had been keeping Takumi safe? There was no keeping a merman on land safe from this fate, safe from Father’s hands. He knew he should have let him go. He should have freed him from the net and left him there. They should have never bonded, never gotten to know each never, never gotten to love each other.

But they had, and now this was the consequence. This was always going to come to pass.

Takumi’s body had clearly already felt the cruelty of Father’s commands. His skin was badly bruised in some areas, small cuts littered his body and there was a deep gash in his forehead that stained his face and hair with drying blood, and the worst injury was in his side, deep and long and still oozing blood across his skin and into the scales that started at his hips.

Leo knew what had made that laceration and it made another wave of nausea roll through his gut. Fishermen often used long, metal harpoons with hooked ends to catch large prey, and he could clearly see how the weapon would have sliced through Takumi’s side, hooked in his flesh and torn away muscle and skin. It was grotesque and sickening and so wrong, but he couldn’t look away.

“Look up at me, creature,” Father repeated and Hans gave the chain and collar around harsh tug that pulled Takumi’s amber gaze away from him. Leo looked towards Father then just as Xander and Camilla and Elise were doing, as a dutiful son should, but his heart pulled towards Takumi, “That’s better,” Father grinned, “Now… Bow to your king.” Leo slowly looked back towards Takumi, his heart a lump in his throat as he watched the merman with desperate eyes.

_Please do it._

_Please._

_Save yourself from more pain._

As much as he begged in his head, he recognized the defiance in Takumi’s gaze, his narrowed, angry eyes and deep frown, and he knew his wishes wouldn’t come to pass.

“ _You_ are not my king,” Takumi said slowly, and Leo could hear the pain in his voice underneath the anger, “And I will not bow to you.”

“Is that so?” Father frowned, giving a Hans a nod before the man slammed his boot into Takumi’s back, forcing his head down to the ground in a bow that left the merman trembling with pain. Elise let out a quiet gasp behind him again, her fingers moving down to grasp at his hand and he weakly gave her fingers a squeeze back, his body too numb and cold to bother deciphering her needs at the moment.

“Was that truly so difficult?” Father laughed, “How pathetic, just like the rest of your kind,” he sneered before he held up a length of Takumi’s ruined necklace, the delicate links of gold broken and crushed, “Tell me, creature, who are you? They don’t give trinkets like this to ordinary beasts of your species. So, who are you? One of Sumeragi’s pathetic ilk? Tell me.”

Once more, Leo looked to Takumi with begging eyes, trying to implore him to answer, just _answer_ and save himself further pain, further bloodshed, but Takumi had too much pride in him, pride and defiance that Father would make Hans and Iago crush out of him eventually, and that knowledge burned inside of him.

“You _dare_ speak my father’s name?” Takumi hissed softly, his gaze suddenly burning with a fire Leo had only seen once, when they had first met on the beach, “After you murdered him and my mother in cold blood?” he spat, jerking at the chains that held his wrists back, “You lured them to the surface with the promise of talks about peace only to kill them before they were even out of the water! You are the one who is a monster- ah!”

Leo resisted bolting forward at Takumi’s cry of pain caused by Hans delivering several hard kicks to his side. He watched in horror as Takumi collapsed to the ground, coughing raggedly before blood trickled past his lips, further staining the floor that was already smeared with his blood.

“Answer the question,” Hans snarled, tugging hard at the collar to pull Takumi back up again, facing Father’s apathetic gaze.

“I-I… I’m S-Second Prince Takumi of Hoshido,” Takumi finally coughed out, his lips stained red with the slickness of his own blood. There was hardly any pride left in his words, just trembling sounds of pain and fear as his weak breathing filled the room.

“A _prince_ then,” Father said slowly before a sick grin spread over his face and laughter erupted from his chest, “How fortuitous. You’ll be very useful to us…”

“P-please,” Takumi whispered then, his voice barely audible over Father’s laughter, but it made the cruel, twisted sound stop for the moment, “Please just- m-my people, they mean no harm to you nor to your kingdom. Please allow me my freedom. _Please_ let me go home…” There was silence in the throne room, and Leo could feel how his breath refused to leave his chest as he waited for Father’s response.

The silence was eventually broken by deep, slow laughter stemming from Father, and by the time a roar of mirth left his chest, Iago and Hans were snickering as well. Beneath the laughter, Leo could discern a choked sob leaving Takumi’s body as Hans kicked him once more for good measure, and he could see how the merman was limp in the shackles, weakened and in pain, bleeding and at the mercy of a cruel leader and his henchmen.

“How truly pathetic you are,” the King finally said, resting his head in his hand as he stared down at Takumi with a dark glint reflected in his eyes, “Hans, take it back to the dungeons. Iago, go with him, but don’t kill this one. We’ll need it for later.”

“Of course, milord,” Iago hummed with a sweeping bow before he started to follow along after Hans who had already stared dragging the chained merman from the room. Takumi wasn’t even struggling, clearly just trying to breathe through the pain as he was dragged along the ground. His gaze came up again, connecting with Leo’s own.

Desperation, fear, hopelessness; that was all Leo could see in Takumi’s glassy eyes before the doors to the throne room slammed shut, taking the merman he loved from his view.

There was only more silence after that, quiet before several maids came out to start cleaning the blood from the floor at the steps to the throne. Leo stayed standing rigidly, Elise’s hand in his own, his gaze staring at the closed doors as he waited for something to happen, for Father to excuse them, for his own self-control to run out so he could break down, fall apart, and then find out how to fix this.

“Father?” Xander’s voice came eventually, seemingly alerting Father of their continued presence, “May we be excused?”

“You stay,” Father said, his dark eyes moving to Xander, “The rest of you, leave us.”

“Yes, Father,” Camilla hummed with a nod before she took Elise’s free hand and led her, and Leo by association, from the room. He staggered behind them, righting himself as they walked from the room, barely feeling how his fingers were still held tight by Elise’s own. His entire body was numb, and when they were out of the throne room and Camilla took Elise in her arms, he still couldn’t move.

“Were you scared, dear?” Camilla crooned, kneeling to pull Elise into a hug, “I know, creatures like that are scary, right? But it’s alright. I don’t think Father will make you go see it again. You’ll be perfectly safe.”

He heard Elise mumble something in response to Camilla, but he felt her eyes on him. He couldn’t look over though. He could barely breathe. He had to get somewhere alone.

He had to- _go_.

“I have… Reading to catch up on,” he managed out, hoping his voice sounded somewhat normal to his sisters, “Don’t wait for me at dinner.” With that, he turned quickly and walked down the hall, away from his sisters, away from anyone who could see or hear him _cry_.

He got to his own quarters quickly, slamming and locking the door before he could finally take a breath that filled his chest. He gasped for air, suddenly realizing that his lungs were starving, his heart pounding in his ears and his head aching. He could tell he was breaking, falling apart because Takumi was-

Takumi was in the _dungeons_ , in the cold and the dark, probably bleeding onto dirty floors without any aid. If he was lucky, Iago wouldn’t be torturing him yet, but this time he wouldn’t torture the captive merman to death on Father’s orders.

At least that was something. Takumi wouldn’t be another empty carcass that was to be burned in the castle’s incinerator, but Leo had been down to the dungeons. He knew what the small, dank cells were like. The entire place smelled of blood and death, filled with the sounds of horrifying screams, pained groans, and the rattling of chains of whatever prisoners Father was currently keeping for future use. That kind of place, disconnected from the environment he was used to, that would be worse than hell, worse than death for Takumi, and if he was being hurt on top of it…

Leo felt his stomach wrenching at the thought, and if he had had anything for breakfast, he knew it would have left his body by then. He couldn’t physically be sick in that moment so instead he pressed his face into his open palms and allowed himself to cry, to muffle his screams with his own skin and sob, choked, wretched sounds leaving his mouth from his chest as he cried for Takumi, for the boy he loved, the beautiful creature he had basically given up for slaughter by the force of his own selfishness.

Takumi had been his. He had finally had someone who was his alone, and that was the problem. He hadn’t ever deserved Takumi. He had omitted the truth about himself, continued to lure the merman back to land because he wanted him _desperately_. The betrayal he had seen in Takumi’s eyes was warranted. It was necessary.

He deserved Takumi’s hatred and distrust.

He deserved this heartbreak. He had caused it after all.

The tears didn’t stop, streaking down his cheeks and dampening his palms until his body refused to give anymore. Instead, he stayed shaking on the floor, choking out soft sobs into his bent knees until his throat refused to make anymore pitiful sounds.

Everything had gone wrong. Everything was _ruined_ , and as his eyes caught sight of the basket had brought out to see Takumi with just earlier that day he wondered if he could fix it or even try for that matter. He wiped at his cheeks, taking a deep breath as he got up from the ground, moving to sit on the edge of his bed instead.

Takumi was just downstairs, hidden away in the dark, but still in the castle. He could go see him, wave away the guards in the guise of orders from Father. He could go to him, try and explain to him, to help him, heal him, anything to make it better.

But he knew that the only thing that could possibly make this better would be to free Takumi, and that was impossible. There was no way he could possibly sneak out of the castle carrying a bleeding merman without anyone seeing, and where would he even take him? Where could he take him to recover in safety? He had no where to go, but he still could go and see the merman he loved, and if that was all he had then it would have to be enough.

A servant brought him some dinner later that night, leaving it just inside the doorway of his quarters when he unlocked the door, but he could barely look at the food without thinking of Takumi who was probably starving and cold in the dungeons, trapped in a cell in the dark. He allowed himself a slice of bread just to stop the hunger pains in his stomach before he laid back on his bed, waiting for the night to grow longer, darker, dark enough so that he could make his way down into the cells to see Takumi.

When it was past midnight, he threw a cloak over his shoulders, silently slipping from his quarters and making his way to the stairs that lead under the castle. He took a deep breath to steel himself before he started his descent, the only light coming from the lantern in his hand and the dim glow of the embers in the torches on the walls.

There was only one guard stationed, slumped against the wall, but he immediately straightened when Leo walked closer to him.

“Lord Leo!” The guard said quickly, standing to attention.

“You appear tired, guardsman,” Leo said slowly, taking in the way the light cast shadows over the man’s face to highlight the tired, sunken nature of his eyes, “My Father sent me to see the prisoner. Perhaps you should take a break. I will be able to manage.”

“But milord,” the guard started to protest, “I cannot leave my post until-”

“I am not suggesting,” Leo said quickly, narrowing his eyes at the man, “I am telling you. Leave me with the prisoner for now.”

“Y-yes, Lord Leo. My apologies. I did not mean to question you, milord,” the guard said quickly, bowing twice before he moved to go down a narrow hall to a room where the prison guards took their breaks. When the door was closed behind him, Leo strode carefully into the blackness of the cells, his lantern held high as he surveyed the place.

The cells were empty aside from Takumi’s, but they were still filthy, covered in the remnants of previous torture sessions of long since deceased prisoners. The dungeon was hidden away under the castle for a reason. Light wasn’t supposed to touch this place, and Takumi being here was so unbelievably wrong. Takumi was too bright to be confined to the darkness. He deserved to be free.

Leo reached the only locked cell slowly, raising the lantern to find that the dim light of it didn’t quite illuminate the entire cell. He couldn’t see Takumi, but his shadow was inside the place, cast long and dark by the faint light in his hand.

“Takumi,” he whispered slowly, moving as close to the thick, iron bars as possible, “Takumi?” There was movement in the cell, a body shifting, the sound of chains rolling against a dirty stone floor before Takumi was moving towards him, crawling into the light and then flinching away it when it stunned his hazy amber eyes, “Takumi,” he sighed in relief. The merman was still alive then as Father had commanded.

He wasn’t as he usually looked though. His skin was pale, white and drawn, his eyes rimmed with dark circles of exhaustion. His beautiful eyes held only fear and brimmed with pain, pain caused by the injuries he donned over his whole body, which looked even more graphic up close. The collar was still around his neck, keeping him chained to the floor, and chains connected his shackled wrists to the farthest wall, preventing him from getting anywhere near the bars. His wrists were bleeding too, sliced and rubbed raw from the crude manacles that kept him restrained.

Leo’s heart hurt. His very soul hurt just looking at him so beaten and broken. Takumi stared at him for a long moment before his head dropped into a bow, the chain around his neck shuddering with the movement.

“P-please, don’t hurt me,” Takumi’s voice finally came, tiny and weak, so wrecked and begging that Leo wanted to cry again.

“ _Hurt you_?” Leo choked out, crouching in front of the bars, “Takumi, it’s _me_. Leo. I- I just wanted to-”

“You wanted to _what_?” Takumi whimpered, his voice filled with tears as he raised his head again, “You w-wanted to come and _gloat_? To a-admire the fruit of all your work? To hurt me even more than the other humans have? To see how naïve and _stupid_ my people and I truly are that I- that I would believe that- a-all this time you- you…” His words broke off into shuddering sobs and tears streaked down his face, sluggishly moving through the dried blood that coated his left cheek, “I-I can’t believe that I- I can’t believe I _fell_ for this,” he sobbed, “I _deserve_ this, I-I know I do. I deserve to die here because I- I-I’m a _disgrace_ , a sorry excuse for a prince, a-and I was foolish enough to believe you, rash enough to think that s-some humans were different…”

“I _am_ different... Takumi please just-” Leo tried before Takumi was shaking his head, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

“I think the worst part was that I- I was stupid enough to think that you- that you _loved_ me,” he said, his voice cracking and breaking with every word, “N-no, that’s not the worst,” Takumi huffed out a wretched excuse for a laugh, a twisted, haunting smile coming to his lips still stained with dried blood, “The worst part is that- that I actually, honestly fell for this, for you… I _loved_ you and now I’m- I’m going to _die_ here,” he sobbed, his cries mixed with the wrecked sounds that could only be compared to forced laughter coming from his chained throat, “I’m going to be b-beaten a-and tortured until the king, _your father_ , kills me,” he whispered, “You truly did a remarkable job, _Prince Leo_.” He fell quiet after that, his gaze on the filthy stone floor, and Leo could see how his arms trembled with the strain of holding up his upper body.

“Takumi,” Leo breathed again, his heart thudding against his chest at the sheer force of Takumi’s words. He was wrong, so wrong. He never wanted this to happen. He just needed Takumi to listen, to let him explain, to tell him he did love him in return, “Please I- let me explain-”

“Save your words,” Takumi whispered, cutting him off before he could even start, “I haven’t the strength to listen.” With that, he watched as the merman retreated into the darker part of the cell, back to where Leo couldn’t see him, couldn’t reach him. He just wanted to hold Takumi, to have him nap peacefully on his chest again, to cradle him close again, to kiss his lips and hear his laugh, see the brightness of his smile, and hold his hands to make everything alright once more.

But he couldn’t. Not now, and maybe never again. Everything Takumi said made so much sense from the merman’s point of view, and Leo could see there would be no changing his mind, not now at least. He stood, dusting off his pants before he picked up the lantern again.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, Takumi,” he murmured, “I will not abandon you.” No additional response came from inside the cell and, with a heavy heart, Leo forced himself to turn away, walking back towards the stairs to leave the dungeons. When he came out of the dark depths of the dungeons and into the lighted hallway, he knew he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve the warmth and light of the castle with its soft, carpeted floors and roaring fireplaces. He didn’t deserve any of that when Takumi was trapped and hurt in the dark and the cold. The prisons were always freezing, and he could feel that chill clinging to him through his clothes even as he reached the warmth of his quarters.

He hadn’t lied though.

He would return to Takumi’s cell the next day and the the day after that. He would do anything to show the merman that he wasn’t alone and that Leo had neither fooled nor tricked him in anyway.

Even with that resolve in mind, he barely slept that night, unable to stop images of Takumi being hurt and ruined from rising up from his subconscious into his dreams.

Breakfast the next morning with his siblings was a quiet affair. Leo hardly ate much, a few slices of bread and two forkfuls of eggs at the most, but he didn’t think he could stomach any more. Xander, Elise, and Camilla looked entirely normal, and as much as he wanted to ask Xander what Father had said to him in private yesterday after Takumi had been dragged away, he knew he couldn’t draw attention to himself regarding the merman, especially when he planned to visit him until he could free him or until Takumi-

- _died_ …

He couldn’t stand the thought of the boy he adored dying, dying without seeing his family, dying without being in the ocean he loved, and dying without thinking Leo loved him.

The thought alone made him want to cry again, but he held his composure in front of his siblings, the most important people to him who still could never know about Takumi. Xander was a dutiful first-born son, and Leo didn’t know if his loyalty on this matter would rest with him or with Father. Camilla was out of the question, and Elise had clearly been scared of Takumi when they had been in the throne room.

While surrounded by the people he loved and who he assumed loved him, he was alone, alone with a secret that hampered his heart to the point of tears.

No, they could never know. He wouldn’t endanger them nor himself nor Takumi’s life even further by trusting his secret to anyone. This situation was his fault. He was to blame and he knew he would have to try and fix it himself.

Later that night after another soundless dinner with his siblings, he slipped into the kitchens before going down to the dungeons again. The cooks had left the kitchens dark, but he found his way to the food stores where he took several fish and wrapped them in paper before tucking them into a basket along with a closed pitcher of water. His eyes paused on a shelf of fruit for a moment before he reached for a single orange that he could bear to take along. Anything to give Takumi just a remote bit of comfort, a small bit of happiness and light in the darkness. Hopefully that could show that he truly did care and hadn’t betrayed him.

He just needed Takumi to listen.

Before he went down to the cells, he slipped into the infirmary and took several salves that would soothe and protect Takumi’s wounds. Bandages would be too obvious so even though they would help, he didn’t take any of them. However, he did take a vial of the healers’ strongest pain tinctures. At least it would take Takumi’s pain away for a little while and allow him to rest peacefully.

The ache in his heart didn’t go away as he thought rationally of everything that would help Takumi. The entire mess was still his fault, and some kind acts would barely make a dent in the enormity of the situation.

Still, he wanted to help Takumi in anyway he could. He still loved him too deeply to abandon him and, if Takumi truly was going to die in the castle, Leo wouldn’t let him go through it alone.

When he reached the door to the dungeons, he left the basket at the top of the stairs, knowing the sight of it would be too suspicious to the guards. A different guard from the previous night was standing outside the cells, looking more bored and tired than the last one.

“Guardsman,” Leo regarded him slowly, “I have orders to see the prisoner. Why don’t you do and rest.”

“Milord Leo,” the guard gapped at him for a minute before hurriedly nodding, “Yes, of course. Thank you, milord.” With a bow, the guard moved away, and Leo’s eyes watched him until he was out of sight, off into the prison guard quarters to likely take a nap. He crept back to the top of the stairs then, grasping the basket from the doorway in his free hand, the other holding another lantern for light, before he hurriedly descended the steps.

The keys to the cells were located outside the guard quarter doors and he paused against the wall to make sure no one was coming before he rounded the corner.

“Oof!” A body collided with his own, a small, female squeak of surprise greeting him as he staggered backwards, reaching for where his tome was tucked underneath his cloak in case he needed it.

“Big brother?” A familiar gasp came and he held up the lantern, casting the narrow stone hall with light. Elise was picking herself up from the ground, a dark colored hood over her bright hair and her healing staff clasped in one hand, the prison keys in the other.

“Elise!” he hissed, tucking the basket over his shoulder before he grabbed her wrist, tugging her away from the hall that held the guards’ quarters, “What are you doing down here?” He asked heatedly, narrowing his eyes at his little sister.

“I could ask you the same thing, Leo!” Elise huffed quietly, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks, the keys rattling lightly where she held them between her fingers, “What are _you_ doing here, big brother?”

“I asked you first,” Leo frowned.

“Fine, fine,” Elise sighed, her expression growing muted as she looked down at her feet before her bright, violet eyes met his face, “I came down here to help the merman. What about you?” She peered at him warily, peaking into the basket that hung from his shoulder with curiosity on her face, “Did you bring him fish? And medicine? That’s so sweet of you, Leo,” she smiled then, bright and pleased before she gleefully wrapped her arms around his middle, “Thank goodness,” she sighed, relief in her voice, “I thought I was the only one who didn’t want to hurt him,” she frowned sadly as he pulled away.

“You weren’t… Scared?” Leo asked slowly, “I thought you told Camilla you were.”

“I did,” Elise smiled cheekily, rolling her eyes before she gave him a wink, “I _lied_ , big brother, but since I lied for a good reason, it doesn’t count!”

“A-ah… I guess so,” Leo said slowly, still trying to process that his little sister was willing to risk her safety and help Takumi out of the sheer purity of her heart, “It’s good that you want to help him,” he smiled, “Let’s go then, alright?”

“Okay!” Elise cheered and Leo shushed her half-heartedly, taking her hand and leading her into the cells.

“He’s in the last cell,” he whispered to her, “Be careful, okay? He’s probably in a lot of pain.”

“How do you know where he is?” Elise gave him a look, “Did you sneak down here yesterday too, Leo?” she gasped.

“You caught me,” Leo said with a small smile, deciding not humoring Elise was impossible as usual, even in the damp cold of the dungeons.

“I heard Father talking to Iago today,” Elise murmured, her gaze falling a bit, “Father made Iago hurt him again… It’s not _fair_ , Leo. It’s not _right_. He has a-a family, and friends too I bet, and an entire kingdom that’s probably looking for him,” she sighed softly.

“You’re doing good by helping him,” Leo soothed her even as his own heart dropped at her admission. Father had hurt Takumi again. His screams had probably filled the dungeons, but no one had heard him where he was locked and buried under the castle, “Come on, hand me the keys.” They reached Takumi’s cell and Leo traded the lantern for the keys Elise held, quickly finding the correct one before he slid it into the lock, unlocking the strong iron bars that kept Takumi trapped.

The cell door creaked quietly as it opened and Leo paused in walking inside when he heard a shifting in the dark, chains moving and a soft sound of drawn-out pain leaving the caged merman.

“Takumi?” he called softly, hoping the merman was lucid enough to recognize his voice, “Here, Elise… Light the torches on the walls, alright? It’s far too cold in here.”

“Right,” Elise said with a quick nod before she moved to the left wall, using the flame burning in the lantern to ignite the sconces in the cell.

As low, warm light started to fill the cell, Takumi’s battered body was illuminated from the dark, and the sight of him made Leo want to both run from him and run to him at the same time.

His usually strong back was a mess, streaked with lacerations made by a whip, some of them deeper than others and still bleeding onto the floor.

“Gods, Takumi,” he breathed, setting the basket on the stone floor before he rushed towards the merman on the ground, gently scooping him into his arms. He didn’t care if blood stained his cloak. Nothing mattered except the feeling of Takumi in his arms again.

The feeling was nothing like before.

Takumi’s body was so cold, trembling with pain as his eyes remained squeezed shut as if he expected even more agony to come from the touch. His skin was ashen with weakness and blood loss, his pale lips pressed together as he obviously tried to keep any sounds of pain within, to not show weakness.

“F-Father did all that?” Elise’s voice sounded, shaky and terrified, scared of their own Father rather than the creature in Leo’s arms.

“He did,” Leo said hoarsely, “Give me a moment, Elise.” His little sister didn’t question him, stepping away with her healing rod held tightly in her hands.

He stroked Takumi’s cheeks then, slow and gentle, trying to rouse him as carefully as possible. Takumi was even worse off than the previous day, bloody and abused likely for entertainment or information, or a mixture of both.

“Takumi,” he spoke again, low and quiet in the slowly warming cell, “Can you hear me? It’s Leo. Please wake up. I brought you some food, and some medicine. Come on, please…”

“Leo?” Takumi’s voice was weak, hoarse from either disuse or screaming, but Leo didn’t want to know which was correct. The merman shifted slightly in his arms, whimpering in discomfort before his eyes fluttered open, the brilliant amber light faded and muted in a way Leo had never seen, but he was alive and looking up at him. That was something, “What are you- w-why are you here?”

“I promised that I would come back, didn’t I?” Leo said softly, stroking along Takumi’s cheeks. Evidentially, Takumi was too weak to be angry or distrustful with him in that moment. After all, his touch was probably the first sign of kindness the merman had received in this place, “I brought you some fish and some water. And some medicine. Does that sound okay?” Takumi only blinked up at him, clearly disoriented and confused, but after a moment he seemed to understand, nodding slowly.

“I’m hungry,” he murmured, “E-everything hurts, Leo…”

“I’ll help you, don’t worry,” Leo soothed, “Let’s get these shackles off of you, and then I’ll help you feel better.” He motioned for Elise to come over with the keys, but when she moved towards them, Takumi startled badly, his eyes snapping open as he suddenly struggled to get out of Leo’s arms, flopping to the ground as he tried to crawl as far as he could from the human he didn’t know. Leo hadn’t expected him to react that violently, especially to someone as harmless in appearance as Elise, but she was a human, and a human holding something unknown to him in her staff, so in Takumi’s eyes Leo figured that she could be seen as threatening.

“Takumi!” He moved quickly, grabbing Takumi up in his arms once more, cradling him close with his face turned away from Elise, “H-hey, it’s alright, it’s _alright_ … No one is going to hurt you. Remember my sister? My little sister? I told you about her, remember? She’s like your little sister- _Sakura_ , right? She’s a healer. Her name is Elise and I promise you she won’t hurt you.” He said the words in a frenzy, rocking Takumi’s shaking body close.

“Leo’s right!” Elise piped up then, her sweet voice brighter than the sconces glowing on the walls, “I promise not to hurt you! My staff is a healing rod! It can help your injuries,” she said, giving Takumi a sweet smile when he peeked up from Leo’s chest to look at her. Slowly, the merman in his arms nodded, and Leo released his hold a bit, reaching for the basket he had brought.

“I brought you some fish,” he started, taking out the fish and slowly unwrapping one from the paper, handing it to Takumi gently. He watched as the merman sniffed it warily, clearly checking if it was foul or poisoned before his teeth tore into it, his desperate fingers ripping off chunks of the meat to eat it as fast as possible. They clearly hadn’t been feeding him enough, and what they had given him likely wasn’t very edible either.

“Wow, you’re really hungry,” Elise hummed as she sat cross-legged across from Leo, “Leo is so smart to bring you that!” she giggled, “He really does think of everything, you know?”

Takumi regarded her with a wary look before Leo felt him nod slowly against his chest, picking the last bits of flesh from the fish’s bones before Leo handed him a new one and he discarded the carcass easily in favor of more substantial morsels.

It was silent in the cell then other than the quiet noises of the sconces sparking every now and then and the sounds of Takumi quickly eating all three of the fish Leo had brought him. When he finished with them, there was a bit more color to his cheeks, his eyes less hazy as he blinked around at the cell.

“Can I have some water?” he asked softly, regarding Leo with hesitance and fear in his eyes.

“Of course, of course,” Leo murmured, resisting the urge to press a kiss to his hair, “One moment. Let’s gets you out of these chains for a little while, alright?” Takumi nodded and Leo accepted the keys from Elise, unlocking the shackles that held his wrists and the collar around his neck, pushing the articles away until they would undoubtedly have to replace them before they left, “That’s better, right?” Leo smiled, taking one of Takumi’s raw wrists into his hand.

“Those things hurt,” Takumi said quietly, “I don’t like them.”

“Well, we’ll have to put them back on before we leave,” Leo sighed as Elise handed him the pitcher of water, “But Elise can heal your wrists a bit so they don’t hurt as much when they go back on.” He raised the pitcher to Takumi’s lips, allowing him to drink as quickly as he wanted and as much as he wanted, putting the container down when he had his fill.

After that, they focused on cleaning Takumi up, using the rest of the water to wipe away the blood and grime from his skin. Elise healed the worst of his injuries about halfway to not raise suspicion, and Leo coated them in the salve he brought to help them heal faster and without fear of getting infected. By the time they were done, Takumi had relaxed into his arms, his eyes half-lidded with exhaustion but his face was brighter, his cheeks and lips rosier and his skin clean of dried blood.

“Here,” Leo said then, pulling the cork from one of the tinctures he brought, “This will take your pain away for a little while so you can sleep easier,” he urged, raising the sweet-smelling potion to Takumi’s lips. The merman looked at it with familiar curiosity flooding into his eyes. He stuck his tongue out, tasting a drop of the potion before he blinked at it in wonder.

“It tastes like… Like, _sugar_ ,” he murmured, looking up at Leo with the questioning expression that Leo had come to adore. Though his heart still ached, he smiled softly and nodded in confirmation, allowing Takumi to swallow down half the flask before he put the stopper back into the bottle, “It feels warm,” he sighed, “When I drank it, it felt warm.”

“It’ll help you,” Leo said softly, unable to help himself as he rubbed gentle circles in Takumi’s back, “You’ll feel better.”

There was quiet in the cell then, Leo holding Takumi close, cradling the merman in his arms as he tried to give him just a bit of comfort.

“Um, big brother?” Elise spoke up after a while, “We should go, don’t you think?”

“Right,” Leo sighed, “We should.”

“I’ll take everything and meet you at the top of the stairs!” Elise smiled, giving him a knowing look before she grabbed up her staff and the basket, filling with half-empty potions, salves, and eaten fish, “Oh, but you want this, right?” she said, holding out the small orange to Leo, and he felt the merman in his arms perking up in some sort of delight at the sight of it. He accepted the fruit into his palm with a grateful nod then and Elise smiled again in return, “Meet me soon, big brother,” she said softly before she ducked from the cell, leaving the two of them alone.

“I don’t hate you,” Takumi’s voice came softly when Elise’s footsteps had faded, “I don’t…”

“Shh, it’s alright,” Leo said quickly, shaking his head and pressing a kiss into Takumi’s hair as he had been longing to all night, his hands busy with peeling the rind from the orange, tucking the pieces into his pocket so Takumi could enjoy the fruit without any traces of it ever being there, “I understand. You were scared and hurt, and I was the only connection, but I _swear_ to you, I seldom would have wished this kind of torture upon my worst enemy, and certainly never upon the one I love,” he smiled sadly, “I waited for you that day for _hours_. A-and when you never came, I knew something was wrong,” he choked out, suddenly feeling tears stinging in his eyes again, “I’m so _sorry_ , Takumi! This _is_ all my fault. I should have never pursued you. I shouldn’t have been so selfishly in love with you if- i-if this was the final outcome!”

“P-please don’t cry, Leo,” Takumi’s weak voice begged before he could let his tears fall. A hand grazed his cheek, gentle and caring, “Please don’t cry. This was my fault too… You don’t think I realize how selfish and unsafe I was? That I- put my desires over my safety, the safety of my kingdom, the feelings of my siblings? I threw all of that away for you, but I- I-I didn’t know this would happen and- a-at least you’re a prince so you can be here with me before I- b-before I- d-”

“ _Don’t say it_ ,” Leo hissed out, setting the orange down so he could hold Takumi even tighter, “You are _not_ going to die in here, alright? I promise you. I will not _let_ you die in here, Takumi. I love you too much to see you dead. Even if it means freeing you from this place and never seeing you again, knowing that you’re alive out there somewhere is better than having you besides me as an empty body,” he sobbed, a hurried breath leaving his chest as Takumi’s quick fingers stroked his tears away, “I will get you out of here. You will be free. _I swear it to you_.”

He wanted to hold Takumi close all night. He wanted to hold him and kiss his cheeks and his hair and take away his pain, but he couldn’t. He had but minutes before he knew he should leave so instead he connected their lips, kissing Takumi hard and desperate. After a second, Takumi kissed back just as frantically, cupping his cheek and easily opening his mouth for him.

He had missed the feeling too much. He caressed Takumi’s lips with his own, traced the shape of them with his tongue, tasting the inside of his mouth briefly before he settled on moving his lips against the merman’s over and over again. He kissed Takumi until his lungs were burning, until he had to pull away and breathe.

“I trust you, Leo,” Takumi whispered breathlessly once their lips parted, “If you say that you will free me, then I will trust you to that, but _please_ , do not get yourself hurt over this. Don’t ruin yourself for me,” he smiled softly, his amber eyes warm yet so sad. Leo wanted to wipe that sadness away, to banish it from the merman’s face, but he knew he couldn’t.

“There is no negotiation to this,” Leo said sternly, “I _will_ free you. This will not be your demise.”

“Alright,” Takumi sighed, leaning up to kiss Leo’s lips once more, a soft and small touch, “Alright…” After that, Leo knew he had to leave. He eased Takumi’s body to the ground, feeling his entire soul aching when he saw Takumi flinch as he reached for the shackles.

“I won’t put them as tightly as Iago and Hans did,” he said softly, securing one of the shackles around Takumi’s wrist before he reaching for his other hand, pressing a kiss to the inside of his wrist before he closed off the skin with crude metal. He attached the collar around Takumi’s neck then, swallowing around the lump in his throat as he completed chaining up the boy he loved like an _animal,_ a creature that needed to be restrained with thick, unforgiving chains.

He moved then, grabbing up the lantern and the keys as Takumi curled into a more comfortable position on the floor, watching him with sad eyes.

“The sconces will burn out by morning, but at least you can have the warmth right now,” he sighed, looking at the torches before turning his gaze to the merman on the floor, “Please, enjoy the fruit, alright? I’ll be back tomorrow evening… I love you, Takumi.” A flicker of joy spread over Takumi’s face then, muted by the predicament, but still there at the force of his words.

“I love you too, Leo,” Takumi murmured sleepily, his tail flicking lightly in a sign that Leo knew by then was clear affection.  

With that, he turned away, locking the cell behind him and hurrying away without a look back. He knew his heart wouldn’t be able to take seeing Takumi locked up behind bars again, not with his words of love still ringing in his ears.

He rushed up the stairs from the dungeons, finding Elise waiting a bit farther down the hall for him, regarding him with a soft smile though her eyes were serious.

“We did a good thing, right big brother?” she asked softly as he pulled off his cloak, folding it over so the blood stains weren’t visible while they walked towards their own quarters.

“We did,” Leo smiled, reaching to take Elise’s hand, “ _You_ did a good thing.”

“Well, I’m going to keep doing it then,” Elise said firmly, her eyes on her feet as she walked, “It’s not fair that Father keeps him all locked up in there.”

“Elise,” Leo sighed softly, “While it was a good thing, it’s dangerous for you to go down there. If Father knew-”

“I don’t care about what Father wants,” his sister said, her voice raising a bit, “It’s wrong! How can you say that when you- when you obviously know more about him- about _Takumi_ than you let on, big brother?”

“I don’t-”

“Don’t try and deceive me,” Elise huffed childishly, a pout coming to her lips before it faded away into a soft smile a moment later, “You _know_ him, don’t you?” Leo sighed softly, and watched his boots as he walked. Elise had always been very perceptive for her age and he knew he couldn’t lie to her.

“It’s true… I have known him for a while,” he sighed.

“And you… You love him.” His gaze went to his sister’s face quickly, shocked that she had picked up on that fact so easily. She was smiling, gentle and without judgment, and her fingers squeezed his own then, “I’m really glad, big brother, that you do love him, but that just means we have to save him even more!”

“There’s nothing I can do to dissuade you from this, is there?” Leo sighed, shaking his head in defeat.

“Nope!” Elise giggled, “We’re going to save your Prince Takumi!” she cheered before Leo shushed her quickly, though he couldn’t help the smile on his own lips. It was a relief that there was someone else in the castle that cared for Takumi’s sake. Even if they couldn’t tell Xander nor Camilla, Elise was enough, more than enough.

He knew he had to save Takumi; there was no option other than that, and with Elise’s help it would be less difficult for sure.

He needed to save Takumi.

Even if it destroyed him.

Even if it ruined him as a Prince of Nohr.

Takumi was worth it. He couldn’t stand knowing that Takumi was alone and cold in the dark constantly when he was so worthy of being in the light. He needed to bring Takumi home, to get him back to his family, to save him and then let him go. There was no way they could be together anymore at the end of this, but if he could set Takumi free, his heart would be at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kdfhigkdjfhgkd thank you for reading that 8k words of Leo angst and Takupain ;u; tbh I started the day with 3.5k of this done and well.... I write so fast idk how bUT YEAH. My computer ate the original 2k words of this and it was really annoying to rewrite but I did it for the Takupain always for precious takufish
> 
> Thank you as always for reading and leaving kudos and commenting!! <3 Comments and critiques give me life ahhhh thank you so so much <333
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter 5! >wo
> 
> p.s. i have been such a bad typer later i'll find like 2 million typos tomorrow even though i read this through THREE TIMES bye


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!!! Sorry for this taking so gosh darn long! ;A; I got really busy with finishing another fic, planning like three more oops, taking two exams and getting things together for my mom's birthday ;w;
> 
> Anyway! This chapter was necessary for a lot of planning/backstory junk so I'm sorry if its not very exciting?
> 
> Enjoy!! <3

Whatever conviction Leo had seemed to have after Elise’s declaration to free Takumi still hadn’t come to fruition a week after the merman’s initial capture.

Takumi was still in the dungeons. He was still bound in heavy, iron chains.

He was still being hurt, reinjured nearly every day by either the chains or the lack of food or Father’s henchmen for whatever information Iago or Hans were instructed to get out of him. As promised, they kept him alive, but just barely sometimes. Leo figure he might have actually perished if not for Elise’s small bit of healing and the salves he himself had supplied.

It was wholly frustrating, but there didn’t seem to be any plausible way out.

Leo returned to the dungeons every night, usually with Elise in tow. He brought food and water and medicine, and Elise brought her sunny optimism and healing staff. Takumi had grown accustomed to Elise’s presence, and he had even started to relax and smile easily around her, a fact that delighted his sister to no end.

But Takumi was still a captive; he was still a prisoner, and however many smiles and thanks and sweet words Leo heard from the merman couldn’t wash any the fear and guilt he felt over that fact.

“Big brother, we _have_ to think of something soon,” Elise sighed at him a week to the day Takumi was captured and brought to Nohr, “I’m… I’m scared for him, for Takumi… Aren’t you?”

“Elise,” Leo breathed heavily in return, “I have been thinking for days on end, losing sleep over this, but I can’t seem to come up with anything remotely conceivable that we could accomplish to free him. You know I want to save him more than _anything_ , but there’s just no consistency to any plan I can come up with.”

It was true; he had been trying. He had been staying up through the nights in the library, desperately trying to puzzle his way through a plot to get Takumi out of the cell undetected, out of the castle undetected, and then to a concealed safe haven to recuperate until he could be released into the sea.

He didn’t know how he was supposed to leave the castle, much less the dungeons themselves, carrying a weakened merman who would have to remain hidden some how. He had knowledge of some secret passages out of the castle, but then where could he go? The cave by the sea wouldn’t be a healthy place for Takumi to heal, and he didn’t know how long it would take for him to be capable of swimming again.

Then there was the issue of Father. It would only be a few hours before Father would discover that Takumi was gone, and then thereafter the kingdom would be on high alert. The lower town would be searched extensively, suspects would be seized, and everything would turn into a massive mess, a mess that would certainly end with Takumi’s recapture, or his execution.

He had made a promise, a promise to Elise and, more importantly, a promise to _Takumi_ , but the more he thought about it, the less hope he seemed to have. He still didn’t even know of Father’s final plans for Takumi. Father and Iago were planning something, there was no mistaking that, but Leo knew it would be too suspicious to ask Xander, and asking Father or Iago directly was completely out of the question.

“How about I help?” Elise beamed at him, “We can split it!”

“Split what?”

“The _thinking process_!” she said excitedly, “You think of how to get Takumi out, and I’ll focus on finding us a safe place to keep him! It’ll be much easier if you’re not thinking of everything all at once, Leo.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Leo sighed, forcing himself to acknowledge that he couldn’t do everything alone, especially not if he had Elise who was willing to help, “But how would _you_ have the resources to find a safe haven?”

“I have my methods, big brother,” Elise giggled, giving him a wink, “It’s a deal then! Let’s try to come up with something soon, alright?”

“Right,” Leo nodded, “We have to. I don’t know how much more of this Takumi can take really. He deserves his freedom.”

“I know, Leo,” Elise said then, her voice softening. Her hand came to squeeze his fingers and she gave him a smile, waving before she hurried from the library. Leo let out a breath and watched her go, pressing his forehead into the heels of his palms.

He was exhausted, but his tiredness took a backseat to his worry and constant fear.

His heart ached and seared with the pain of it all. All he wanted was to turn back time, to rewind until he was back in the sunlight, holding Takumi’s peacefully sleeping form in his arms, whispering out quiet words of love into his soft hair.

There was no warmth anymore, and there was barely any light left in the deep reaches of Takumi’s amber eyes. If he couldn’t take much more, he didn’t know how Takumi hadn’t caved already.

He knew Takumi was strong, physically built to move swiftly in the water, but he could tell his mental strength was breaking, slowly losing hold on the family and kingdom he had to protect for the sake of his own life.

Leo knew he wouldn’t allow Takumi to betray his family and his people. He would have to save him before the merman could be forced to tell Father or Iago anything. He had promised and he would fulfill that promise whatever the cost.

He spent the rest of the day trying to think of ways to rescue Takumi, and as he slipped into the kitchens that night to gather up some food for the caged merman he had only really thought of one thing, and he didn’t even know if it could work or if Takumi would be up for it.

Either way, he could always suggest the idea and then see if Takumi was alright with it. If not, he would find another way, and he would have to do it quickly.

Elise had found a different route to sneak into the dungeons a few days earlier, a path that didn’t involve going past the guard. No doubt they would have started getting suspicious at a prince and princess accessing the cells every night. Leo had used a spell he found in a book in the back of the library to replicate a spare key to Takumi’s cell and to his shackles, which let them bypass the need for the guards altogether.

He met Elise at the door to the dungeons and they quietly slipped into the dark together. The guard was snoring lightly from where they could see him, and Leo wondered if Father knew about the sheer incompetence of his men, but he didn’t have any intention of alerting him nor Xander to the breech in security. With quick, practiced movements, he unlocked the cell, easing the iron door open as quietly as he could before he ushered Elise inside, closing the door behind them.

When Elise lit the sconces in the cell and light flooded the room, he was surprised to see Takumi curled up on the stone floor, his head nestled into his arms fast asleep. He knew Takumi hadn’t been sleeping well, or at all for that matter, and while he hated seeing Takumi asleep on the hard floor he was glad he was getting some sort of rest.

“He’s sleeping?” Elise whispered, “Should we wake him?”

“No, no let him rest,” Leo murmured, setting the basket he brought onto the ground and moving to kneel at Takumi’s side. He unfolded the blanket he brought, laying it across his own lap before he carefully slid his arms under Takumi’s body, lifting him onto the soft surface of the blanket, held against his own body. Takumi shifted, his brows furrowing and lips parting in a fearful whimper, but Leo was quick to soothe him, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “Shh,” he breathed out softly, “It’s Leo, you’re safe. Just sleep.”

“Mm… Leo,” Takumi’s words came out as a barely audible sigh, but his brow evened out and he nestled closer in his sleep, a quiet breath leaving his lips as he went still again.

“He’s so cute,” Elise giggled, pressing her fingers to her lips to muffle the sound, her violet eyes bright in the low, orange light of the torches on the walls, “Should I heal him a bit now? While he’s asleep?”

“I don’t see why not,” Leo smiled, carefully moving to unlock the shackles around Takumi’s neck and wrist, lowering the chains to the ground as unobtrusively as he could. The shackles had clearly been tightened by Hans or Iago, and they had created glaring red cuts into Takumi’s skin once more. He hated seeing Takumi’s skin stained with his own blood, the very sight of it making his stomach turn, and he beckoned Elise over quickly.

Elise knelt at his side, casting her staff over Takumi’s body, closing up lacerations and lightening the hue of bruises, but not to an extent that could look suspicious.

He hated leaving Takumi still hurt when Elise had the ability to heal him completely, but he needed to make sure there was no chance of them getting caught. He couldn’t imagine how it would seem to Father or Xander or Camilla to see him cradling Takumi in his arms, held dearly and safe from harm.

Father’s reaction would be the worst no doubt. He would probably be jailed alongside Takumi, but then they could be together at least.

“All done!” Elise smiled and pulled her staff away a moment later, “That looks better,” she sighed, reaching to graze a nearly closed cut on Takumi’s arm with careful fingers, “Father hasn’t had Iago and Hans hurt him really badly in a while,” she frowned, “Is that strange, Leo?”

“Perhaps,” Leo sighed, wrapping the blanket over Takumi’s bare skin now that Elise was finished, “I’d hate to think it’s foreboding towards something more, but you can never know for sure. We just have to get him out of here as soon as we can.”

“Right!” Elise nodded vigorously, rising to her feet and brushing off her dress, “I’m going to go now, big brother! I have more plans to make for when we free Takumi,” she smiled, giving him a wave.

“Alright,” he consented with a nod, “Be careful with the door so it doesn’t make any noise, and don’t let anyone see you.”

“I know,” Elise giggled, rolling her eyes, “See you tomorrow!” He watched as she left, taking her healing staff and closing the cell door quietly behind her. When her footsteps faded, he turned his attention back to the sleeping merman in his arms. Takumi was still fast asleep, curled close and nestled comfortably into his arms. He didn’t have the heart to wake him just yet, not even to get him to eat something. He knew he could persist to stay there until just after dawn, and even if it cost him his own sleep for the night he would remain as long as he could with Takumi.

It was strange to hold him in the cell, cradling him close as he had done before in their cave by the sea, hidden and safe in the rocks. There was no salty sea breeze, no gentle lapping of ocean water against the sand, but Takumi’s weight in his arms was constant, and Takumi’s soft, even breaths against his neck were the same as before. If that was all he could have at the moment, he would accept it without complaint.

Eventually, Takumi began to stir, shifting in Leo’s arms before he eyes opened, blinking with the bleariness of sleep. He startled a bit, and Leo could feel his body freezing, muscles clenching up with the energy to get away if he had too. His head cocked up and when their eyes met the change was immediate. Takumi softened, body relaxing, eyelids falling halfway shut as he smiled sleepily before a yawn left his lips.

“No wonder I slept so well,” he murmured, reaching up to rub at his eyes with the back of his hand, “You’re here.”

“I am,” Leo said gently, reaching out for the basket of food and medicine, “Are you hungry? I brought fish.”

“Whether I’m hungry or not,” Takumi sighed, reaching into the basket to pull out one of the fish, “I need to keep my strength up.”

“That you do,” Leo nodded, shifting to recline a bit against one of the walls of the cell, the torch just above them casting a glow of flickering light around them, “Especially if we’re going to get you out of here.” He smiled when Takumi’s head whipped up to him, eyes wide and hopeful as he chewed around the mouthful of fish he had taken in, swallowing quickly.

“Did you think of something?” he asked excitedly, his voice still wary, “Can I leave? Are you taking me _home_?”

“I have an idea,” Leo started slowly, “But it requires something of you, something I don’t want to force you into.”

“What is it?”

“I wondered if you might- use your magic and appear to be human- just for a little while of course! Just to make it easier to get you out and to a safe place to heal. I know it’s asking a lot, especially since you said you’ve never done it before, but it would be the best way to get you out of here. If you can’t, I understand and I promised to save you so- I’ll think of something else,” he said firmly. Takumi was quiet after he spoke, his fingers silently picking at some of the scales on the fish in his hands. His face was stony, his eyes dark with thought, and Leo realized he was holding his breath in his chest, waiting and hoping.

“I- I don’t know,” Takumi finally whispered, quiet and fearful, “I-it’s not a no… But I- I don’t know if I can do that. I just- I don’t _know_.”

“It’s alright,” Leo started, “It’s alright, it’s o-”

“But it’s not,” Takumi sighed, “It’s not okay. Because this is what you have come up with, and if this is the way to leave this place and be safe and I- I should accept it… But I’m _scared_.”

“I know you are,” Leo soothed quickly, stroking his fingers through Takumi’s tangled hair, gently untwisting knots from the strands, “I am too… I’m scared for you, for what my Father will do, for what will happen after I take you away from here, but if doing what I ask of you is too much, then I will think of something else.” He pressed his lips to Takumi’s temple, gently guiding his chin up so he could see his face. He smiled, leaning to press a kiss to Takumi’s lips, “Everything will be fine. I promised to save you.”

“You did,” Takumi murmured, returning the kiss slowly, “Can you… give me time? I know there isn’t much time but- a day? A day to just think about it and try to test my ability to even do that?”

“Alright,” Leo nodded, “A day is fine. I’ll try and think of an alternate method in the meantime, but I- I cannot bear to see you in here any longer,” he sighed, pressing his face into Takumi’s hair, letting out a shaky breath, “I _refuse_ to allow it.” Takumi didn’t answer, instead twisting in his arms to embrace him, burying his face into his chest. They sat like that for a while, the cell filled with the sounds of quiet breathing and the sparking embers in the sconces.

Eventually, Leo forced himself to pull away a bit, gesturing to the half-eaten fish Takumi had left, “Go on. You need to eat.” It was clear that Takumi had grown thinner in only a week in the cell, his arms holding less muscle to them and his entire form appearing weaker in general. He needed proper food and sleep, sunlight and a place to sleep without worry. His wounds were still grave, some too deep still to even start closing up like the deep hooked gash in his side. Absently, as Takumi picked up the fish again, Leo reached for it, his fingers stroking the tender red edges of the wound with concern.

“It’s from when they caught me,” Takumi said quietly, and Leo watched his throat bob once as he swallowed down another bite of fish, “I was swimming to meet you, and there was this big- this thing…”

“A ship, a boat?” Leo supplied when he witnessed Takumi’s brow furrowing in debate over what to name it.

“Mhm, one of those,” Takumi nodded, “I’d never seen one but Ryoma has talked about them… He said the human king lured my Mother and Father to one to slaughter them. But the humans on this one, they saw me, and there had never been a- a _boat_ there before. I was turned away to swim back or to find another way around when they threw this _thing_ in the water… It was metal and it- i-it went into my side, and it didn’t come out when it pulled, and they pulled me onto their boat. Then they tore it out…”

Leo shuddered a bit, drawing Takumi closer against his chest as his description of the event. He hadn’t bothered to ask how he had been caught in the first place; the gash in his side was telling enough. The wound was too old to be healed completely by Elise’s staff by then, but he would do everything to keep it from getting worse in the meantime, and when he freed Takumi he would let all his wounds heal before taking him back to the sea.

Back where he belonged.

“I had no idea there would be a boat there,” he whispered as Takumi went back to quietly eating, “Truthfully, I’ve never seen anyone but you on that side of the beach, but even fish have become scarce lately from the curse on Nohr, and the fishermen have probably moved to different areas to hunt.”

“Right, the curse,” Takumi mumbled, finishing the first fish Leo had brought before reaching for the second.

“You know about it?”

“Of course,” Takumi nodded, his tail flicking a bit in what Leo figured was discomfort by the look on his face, “Perhaps, it was necessary when your father killed my parents, and perhaps it will be necessary until your father no longer wants to destroy us, but I don’t- I don’t like that you have to live in darkness, in a land cursed to be unfruitful and desolate. It is not something I would wish on anyone, especially not on you nor your little sister. You may be the only kind humans I have ever met, but I truly love you, and I don’t want you to live this way.” Leo let out a sigh at his words, stroking his fingers carefully through Takumi’s hair again. There was nothing to be done for Nohr’s sake, and it was foolish for Takumi to be worrying about his wellbeing when the merman was chained up in a dungeon.

“I don’t mind it,” he said softly, “I really don’t… I can scarcely remember a time before the curse. My only priorities right now involve getting you out of here and getting you home, and I don’t want you worrying about anything other than that until you’re back home with your family.”

“Okay, okay,” Takumi conceded, reclining back into him as he continued to eat. Leo took the time to allow his fingers to unknot every bit of Takumi’s hair he could as painlessly as possible. The merman always had his hair kempt so neatly, and to see him reduced to disarray hurt his heart even further.

Takumi finished all the fish Leo brought, and by that time Leo knew he should start thinking about leaving. It was the same miserable routine: releasing Takumi from his arms, taking the warmth of the blanket away from him, and then securing him in chains again before leaving him alone in the dark. He wanted to cry, and then he wanted to go to Father’s quarters and demand the merman’s release, but they were close, so close, and he would save him on his own terms.

He went through the necessary steps, setting Takumi down, closing his wrists and neck in iron with all the care he could put into the action, and placing a sweet kiss to his lips. He could always feel Takumi watching him leave, but he could never look back.

* * *

 

Elise found him in the library after breakfast the next morning, and from the skip in her step and the optimistic smile on her face, he could tell she was probably going to give him some update on her plan for Takumi’s rescue.

“I found a place to take Takumi, big brother!” she said in an excited whisper as soon as she sat next to him, her arms snaking around his waist, “I’m sure he’ll love it!”

“Quiet down, Elise,” Leo warned gently, closing the book in his hand to give Elise his full attention, “Where is this place? How far? And how do you know for sure it’s safe?” He narrowed his eyes a bit, feeling more and more questions coming into his mind. This place had to be safe, protected and secure so Takumi couldn’t be found there, and he had no idea how Elise knew how to find anything like that.

“It’s my nanny’s old cottage!” Elise beamed up at him, “She moved to the lower town a few years ago and left her old house to me! Father’s advisers let me redecorate and everything, and no one really knows about it. I go there all the time too. It’s over on the cliffs past the towns to the east, and it looks right over the sea so Takumi can see the ocean while he gets better!” She smiled up at him so brightly, clearly pleased with herself, but Leo couldn’t even begin to feel any relief yet. He trusted Elise of course, but was this place truly safe? How would Takumi even react to being in a human environment for longer? He couldn’t swim with his injuries, and Leo knew he couldn’t risk drawing more merpeople from the ocean to take him home without fear of them being captured too.

“How will I get Takumi there?” he asked slowly, “You’re already too involved in this. I won’t see you getting hurt or caught for Takumi’s sake. It’s my fault he’s here in the first place.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Elise said easily, giving him a squeeze around the middle, “I already talked to Arthur and he said he would take you there! He’s a good man, you know that, and he doesn’t like what Father is doing to Takumi either. He’ll protect both of you; he _promised_ me.” There so much conviction in Elise’s words that Leo didn’t have a choice other than letting himself believe for just the time being that the plan could work.

“Alright,” he gave a nod, sighing quietly to try and let some of his worry out in the breath, “Tell Arthur to be waiting tonight just in case, at the spot we found that leads from the dungeons… And thank you, Elise. I truly appreciate this, and I know Takumi will too.” Elise giggled and let out a cheer, cuddling into his side more when he affectionately dropped a hand into her hair, rubbing playfully.

“What’s all the commotion?” Xander’s voice called towards them and he looked up quickly, blinking at the sight of their brother coming closer, a small, bemused smile on his face. He looked tired, his eyes exhausted, but his smile was still warm.

“Leo promised to have tea with me every day next week!’ Elise giggled easily, her smile growing brighter as she got up, running towards Xander to grab him around the waist.

“That’s very kind of him,” Xander laughed softly, “But right now I need Leo for a little while so you can play with him later, okay?” Leo raised a brow at Xander, but stood when his brother’s serious gaze met his own.

“I’ll see you later, Elise,” he said quickly before following quickly after Xander who was already walking swiftly from the library, “Brother!” he called out, forcing Xander’s quick footsteps to slow a bit, “Wait, what is it? Where are we going?” Xander’s frown deepened at his questions, his eyes darkening with something Leo couldn’t quick pick out yet, an amalgam of emotions that didn’t forebode anything good when mixed together.

“The dungeons,” Xander said lowly, “Come now, Leo.” He started walking again before Leo could even allow his mind to catch up, let alone his body.

“Xander!” He had to break into a quick run to catch up with his brother’s brisk strides, “Xander, wait. Why are we going down there?”

“There isn’t time to explain,” Xander shook his head, his blond curls bouncing slightly with his footsteps, “Let’s _go_ , Leo.” His heart was pounding against his chest, but he didn’t question Xander further, decidedly following him instead. He knew whatever they were going to the dungeons for would be about Takumi, and he could feel fear welling up inside him. Did Xander want them to hurt Takumi together? Or perhaps assist Iago and Hans in hurting him? He couldn’t think of any other reason, and he couldn’t get any sort of finite reading from the lines set into Xander’s face. He had no choice but to follow him and hope with what little spirit he had left that Takumi was okay.

A guard wasn’t stationed at the usual post when they entered the dungeons. Xander paused at that before hurrying inside, stopping outside the bars that made up Takumi’s cell. Several guards were standing around Takumi’s body, laughing and jeering as they prodded at him with their lances.

The sight of him made Leo’s breath leave his lungs in one rush, and he didn’t think he could take any more in. His back was shredded again, old lacerations reopened from when they hadn’t had time to heal and new whip marks stained his skin with blood. He wasn’t moving, his tangling silver hair obscuring his face, and for a moment Leo couldn’t help but wonder if he was _dead_.

“Xan-”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Xander’s voice boomed through the echoic space of the dungeons, his hands curling into fists as the guards startled, turning to face them with wide, terrified eyes.

“Milord Prince Xander, a-and Prince Leo!” one of the guards choked out, his face stricken and pale, “We were just-”

“What? You were _toying_ with a prisoner who is very important to my Father. What if you had killed it? What then?”

“Th-the King would have been quite cross, I-I imagine,” the guard stammered out.

“That’s right. My Father would have your heads for killing this creature. Leave us. My brother and I have been sent to tend to it,” Xander glowered and the guards all gave quick frenzied nods, hurriedly shuffling out of the cell one-by-one until it was just the two of them, alone with Takumi.

“Xander, wh-what are we doing here?” Leo forced himself to choke out, his eyes on Takumi’s unmoving form, “Is… Is the merman _dead_?”

“No,” Xander said slowly, pushing the cell door open, “He’s not dead, and I brought you here to help me tend to him, just as I told the guards.”

“Why?”

“I saw your expression,” Xander sighed, kneeling besides Takumi on the ground, “When Father first brought him before us in the court, I saw your face. You do not share Father’s hatred for his kind, and I hoped you would be willing to assist me.” Leo stared ahead, meeting Xander’s eyes as he tried to believe what his brother was saying. Xander was like Elise, like he himself was, unafraid and even compassionate to merpeople, to _Takumi_. He numbly entered the cell, kneeling at Xander’s side. His fingers itched to reach out, to hold Takumi against him and will his pain away, but Xander didn’t need to know what Elise knew; not yet anyway, perhaps not ever.

“What happened?” he asked softly, reaching out to smear red from the droplets of blood that stuck to Takumi’s skin, “Why is he like this?”

“Father ordered him to be questioned again, but by Hans this time,” Xander said with a sigh as he reached and pulled out a stack of blankets and a basket of medicines and bandages, “I came here after and gave him a potion to put him to sleep. He tried to fight me with whatever strength he had left… He probably figured I was there to hurt him more, to poison him maybe, but I do not share Father’s hatred.” Leo watched as he laid out two thick blankets before gently moving Takumi’s limp body onto the cloth, gently picking bloodied strands of hair from his wounds before he started plucking medicines from the basket, “Here, you know medicine better than I do. Just do what’s best.”

“If you wanted him healed, why didn’t you bring Elise here?” He asked, reaching for a poultice he knew would stop the bleeding first, “She could heal him far better than these medicines will.” He popped the top from the jar, scooping some of the medicine onto his fingers before he gently started stroking it into Takumi’s wounds, fighting the urge to look more than appropriately distressed when the merman whimpered in his unconsciousness.

“I’d rather she not witness this type of carnage,” Xander breathed out, scrubbing a hand over his face, “Perhaps she’s not still too young, but I cherish her heart more than anything. I would not have her seeing this. I asked Father if I could make sure the merman didn’t perish and he agreed. He wants him alive at least, and even if that’s all I can do, this one is Ryoma’s brother after all.”

“Ryoma?” Leo echoed softly, surprised to hear the King of Hoshido’s name coming from Xander’s lips.

“Ryoma is the king of the kingdom where this boy is from. I knew him when I was a child,” Xander said absently, his eyes on Leo’s fingers as he worked the salve into Takumi’s back, “My mother was rather close with their queen. They were friends, and King Sumeragi and Father were acquaintances. Ryoma is around the same age as I am, and my mother used to take me to the shore frequently to meet with him and his mother, but when she fell ill, Father went to ask them for help. The merpeople have different healing abilities than we do, but there was nothing they could do and she died,” he murmured, reaching to help spread salve over Takumi’s injuries as well, “After that, Father held them accountable for my mother’s death, and eventually that built into the hatred enough to kill King Sumeragi and his queen. So when Father captured this boy, I knew I had to try and do what I could to protect him if my childhood friendship with their current king could mean anything for the future.”

“What does Father plan on doing with him?” Leo asked slowly, trying to keep all the worry and fear he had from his voice to save face for now. He reached for another medicine, one that would protect against infection, easily stroking a thin layer of it over Takumi’s flayed flesh, “He’s keeping him alive for a reason, right?”

“Yes, but for what reason I don’t know,” the crown prince sighed, passing his clean fingers through his curls before he reached for a roll of bandages, “I fear for what he has planned, but I am glad I can confide in you, Leo,” he smiled softly, “This boy doesn’t deserve such strife and pain. He has a family and an entire kingdom to return to and I hope to see that come to pass.”

“Me too,” Leo whispered out hoarsely, swallowing around the lump in his throat as he stared down at Takumi. His back glistened with different coatings of medicine, but his face was calm albeit pale from blood loss, his eyes closed into sleep, “We should put on the bandages.” Xander nodded at that, gently easing Takumi into a sitting position while Leo wrapped the strips of white securely around him, covering his back and shoulders with the clean cloth.

To his surprise, Xander didn’t pull the blankets away after, instead settling a folded one under Takumi’s head and covering his bandaged body with another. Leo didn’t know when he had ever overlooked how kind his brother was, but the sentiment was well-reestablished in his mind and heart then.

“Should we stay until he wakes?” he asked slowly, wishing that he could lay besides Takumi on the blankets, hold him close and promise to him that everything would be fine, but Xander shook his head, easily gathering up the remaining medicine and standing then.

“He would probably rather rest without us around,” Xander decided, “Humans have not been terribly kind to him after all.” Leo knew he couldn’t protest, but he would slip back into the dungeons later, perhaps to free Takumi for good if he was up for it.

He cast a look back over his shoulder as Xander locked the cell, allowing himself to watch the slow rise and fall of Takumi’s chest just once before he followed Xander past the guards and up out of the dungeon.

Dinner was a quiet affair. There was no mention of what went on in the dungeons and Elise didn’t bring it up either. Once he got back to his room for the night, he laid out two blankets for Takumi and a warm cloak for himself if tonight would be the night he would leave with Takumi in his arms. It had been softly raining all day, and the storm had started to pick up after nightfall. Elise had said the cottage wasn’t too far, and Leo knew he would do whatever he had to in order to get Takumi there safely.

He quietly went back into the dungeons a little before midnight, the blankets held tightly under his arm. He unlocked the cell door and crept inside, watching as Takumi shifted lightly in the makeshift bed Xander had put together for him.

“Leo?” His voice was soft, sleepy but tinged with underlying pain, and Leo quickly rushed to his side, setting the blankets down and kneeling in front of him. His eyes were half-lidded, hazy with sleep as well as the after-effects of the sleeping draught Xander had given him, but he didn’t look to be in extreme agony. Slowly, Leo reached forward, sliding his arms under the blankets to move the merman into his lap, cradling him close in the cocoon of warm cloth, “Leo… What happened?” Takumi asked out quietly, peering up at him as he shifted, cuddling closer.

“You’re alright,” Leo smiled, glad that Takumi was awake and coherent, warm against him and alive, “Xander and I put medicine and bandages on your injuries. He came to give you some medicine before that, right?”

“Right,” Takumi murmured, uncertainty in his tone, “He was here… Your brother… He made me drink something and it- made the pain go away.”

“He wants to protect you, and that was the only way he could,” Leo sighed, “I shouldn’t explain now. I’m ready to take you away from this place if you’re ready,” he said slowly, making sure Takumi knew he wasn’t trying to force him into anything, “After today… After they _hurt_ you again, I cannot stand seeing you here any longer,” he swallowed around the lump in his throat, pressing his face into Takumi’s hair, “Please allow me to take you away from here… Elise prepared a safe place, and I can bring you there tonight. I could bring you there _now_.” Takumi was quiet, his amber eyes holding a far away look, and there was a long moment of silence in the dark of the cell.

“You have to promise me something,” Takumi finally said, his voice a bit shaky. His hand came up, fingers curling into Leo’s cloak, and Leo lifted his head to meet his gaze.

“ _Anything_ ,” he breathed, “Anything to save you… Just tell me.”

“When I- become _human_ in appearance,” Takumi started “You have to promise me that you’ll- take care of me,” he said softly, his voice almost begging, “I don’t have much strength, a-and doing this will take all the energy I have left so… You have to take care of me. Please, _please_ , Leo,” he choked out, his grip tightened as he gazed up at him with frantic, frightened eyes, “Please promise me you won’t leave me alone. _Please_.”

“Takumi,” Leo whispered, and he could hear his own voice cracking in the cell. He tightened his hold on Takumi, pulling him even closer if it were possible, pressing fervent, quick kisses to his hair and face, “Gods, I’d _never_ leave you alone, alright? I promise. I will not leave you. I will take care of you and I’ll make sure you’re okay before you go home. I swore to protect you, and if you need me to say it again and again, a thousand times over, I will. I’d do anything for you, Takumi.” He gave him a smile, and Takumi’s eyes were teary, but there was less fear in his gaze. When he leaned up to kiss him, Leo accepted easily, cupping Takumi’s face to gently return the affection, his thumb stroking slowly over the soft, natural curve of his cheek.

“O-okay,” Takumi breathed out when they parted, and Leo could feel his breath against his own lips, “Okay… I’ll do it. Just give me a moment.”

“Right,” Leo nodded quickly, gingerly setting Takumi back onto the blankets on the cell floor, “I’m right here. I won’t leave.” Takumi gave him a small smile in gratitude for his words then before his eyes slipped shut. The cell was silent after that and Leo watched Takumi’s face for any sign of something happening, but there was no change, no movement.

Eventually, he opened his mouth to ask if it would work, but before he could get a sound out Takumi let out a gasp of his own, his lips parting and his brow furrowing for a moment before he arched against the ground, his body shifting under the blankets, his fingers curling into a tight hold on the fabric. His teeth were gritted, likely in an attempt to keep any loud sounds held within, and Leo desperately wanted to reach for him, to grab his hand and help him through it, but as quickly as the apparent distress had started it disappeared and Takumi went limp against the ground. His chest was heaving for breath, his eyes still closed a thin sheen of sweat evident on his skin that seemed to have been drained of all color.

“Takumi?” he asked out, hesitantly reaching to touch his face. His pale skin was damp and cold, and he could see then that Takumi was shivering. His eyes opened slowly, barely more than a slit of dulled amber being revealed to the light, but he was awake and he was _alive_.

“I… I think it worked,” he whispered, his voice barely there before his eyes closed again and didn’t reopen. He still breathed, slow and shallow, and when Leo moved the blankets he saw that Takumi’s tail was _gone_. The only evidence of it that remained were the nearly-translucent, shining scales that stuck to the blankets and to the damp newness of his _legs_ , lower limbs that hadn’t existed before.

He knew he didn’t have time to sit and marvel at what had happened. He had to move, to get the both of them out of there. Without the girth of his tail, Takumi was easy to move, almost light in his arms as he transferred his limp form to the fresh blankets he had bought, wrapping him securely in both of them before he stood with the boy in his arms. He raised the hood of his cloak over his head before quickly leaving the cell, locking the door behind him and hurrying to the passage that would lead out from the castle.

Elise’s retainer, Arthur, was there waiting for them, beckoning him into the storm outside to lead him to sanctuary.

“Lady Elise told me to meet you,” he said, raising a hand to his forehead to block out the rain from dripping into his eyes, “Come along, Lord Leo!” Leo nodded, stepping out into the storm with Takumi wrapped tightly and shielded against his body.

The rain was cold where it came blowing against his skin, and the wind whipped at his clothes and hair, tugging and pulling at him relentlessly.

But the air outside was fresh and clean, and when he looked down to see Takumi breathing in and out against his chest, something akin to hope blossomed inside him.

The air was fresh and clean and _free_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> akjhdkashdkhsdfkhd the fun begins next chapter
> 
> and by fun I meet probably a lot of fluff mhmhmhm yes :3c 
> 
> As always, thank you for every read and comment and kudo!!! <3 It really means so much to me to get comments and constructive criticism and reactions to how you all liked (or disliked ;n;) the chapter!! Please feel free to come talk to me on tumble or twitter too! ;w;)b
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter 6 (which will hopefully be done much quicker than this one!) >wo


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again with chapter 6!! Sorry for the long wait everyone! ;A; I had to take two exams in the time I was gone, but now I am back! I'll be a bit slow with August updating since I'm moving back into my university and I'll be really busy, but I will do my best to keep updates speedy!!
> 
> With that, please enjoy this 7k chapter of hurt/comfort floof because Takumi deserves it ;;w;; (p.s. pretty lazily edited I'm really sorry for any typos I missed ;~;)
> 
> Enjoy!!! <3

It turned out that what Elise had described as a cottage literally was a cottage, and Leo didn’t know why he had expected anything more, but it didn’t matter in that moment as they reached the door to the small home and Arthur got out the key.

It was still raining, hard and unrelenting, and he could feel Takumi shivering against his chest. Any place that was a safe haven would be fine, more than fine really. Anywhere that was warm and safe and comfortable for Takumi was all he wanted.

“Lady Elise had the place stocked well with anything you may need, milord,” Arthur said as he opened the door, “It’s not big, but it will be fine for your friend to recuperate.” Leo stepped into the home, feeling a warm rush of air hitting his chilled, wet skin as soon as he was inside the entryway. Arthur closed and locked the door behind them, standing to the side as Leo walked further inside.

It was small, but Elise truly had redecorated it. There was room enough for a large bed, fitted with blankets and sheets meant for royalty, a roaring fire place in front of it. The kitchen was small but sufficient enough to cook in, and the bathroom had a large porcelain tub in the center. Leo briefly wondered if Takumi would enjoy being in the water while still appearing to be human, but he knew he had more pressing things to worry about.

He hurriedly set Takumi down on top of the bed, pulling away the wet blankets he had wrapped him in and tossing the soaked cloth to the ground. His skin was pale, damp with rain in some places and with cold sweat mostly everywhere else. His eyes were still closed into unconsciousness, ringed with dark circles of exhaustion evident of his lack of sleep. His lips were pale, too pale, parted as shallow breaths left his chest. The bandages Leo had wrapped around him earlier were still dry and tight around his injuries, and he wouldn’t bother with them for now.

Perhaps it was foolish to worry about Takumi’s modesty, but he still slipped a pair of pants up onto his legs, stopping for just a second to marvel at the soft newness of his skin. The skin on his legs was so different from the rest of his body. It wasn’t sun-kissed a slightly darker shade like his upper body, nor was it marred with any scars nor bruises. It was new, soft and tender, and Leo knew even more then why Takumi had begged him to protect him.

He was vulnerable, completely cut off from his home and family, and now completely separated from what made him able to return home. He was transformed into something he had feared most of his life, appearing to be like the humans who had captured him, hurt him, killed his parents and countless other of his kind. He needed love, but mostly he needed protection, and Leo knew then that his promise was so important. He couldn’t leave Takumi’s side, not until he woke up again at least. He couldn’t do anything but take care of him and he would do it without a second thought on the matter.

“The kitchen is fully stocked,” Arthur’s voice rang out from behind him as he slipped Takumi’s body under the thick blankets, tucking him in gently, “Lady Elise had me bring everything she could think you would need here. There’s even a pot of soup that would just need to be warmed up if either of you get hungry.”

“Thank you, Arthur,” Leo sighed, wearily pushing his hand through his soaked bangs, “You have put your life at risk guiding me here and helping me and Elise so all I can do is thank you. Anything else I could not put to words.”

“Lady Elise expects no less of me, milord!” Arthur beamed at him, “I’ll leave the key with you now. Lady Elise and I are fully prepared to cover for you should your absence come up at the castle. Surely you will hear the alarm bells when they find out he’s gone, but this place is safe. I’m sure milady will be coming out here eventually to check on you. Have a good night, Lord Leo.” Leo bid him a quiet farewell, watching as the door closed to the storm, taking Elise’s retainer with it. After a long moment, he approached the door, sliding the bolt into the lock. Only after he did that did he feel like he could breathe.

Takumi was free. Takumi was in a safe place, warm and surrounded by food and blankets and medicine, and he would take care of him the entire time.

He had promised, and he had no intention of breaking that promise.

Leo turned away from the door and stripped his soggy cloak from around his shoulders, hanging it on a peg on the wall. His feet felt damp in the wet leather of his boots so he pulled those off too, leaving them to dry in front of the fire. There were several plain sets of clothes in a chest of drawers next to the bed so he changed into a simple tunic and put on warm socks before grabbing a towel to scrub hastily through his wet hair.

When he set the towel down, exhaustion finally hit him, and the largeness of the bed at Takumi’s side looked more than appealing, but he wanted to give Takumi his space. He would let him wake up first before seeking out his affection. He didn’t know how comfortable Takumi would be with his changed appearance, and Leo didn’t want to overstep any boundaries on the matter. Whatever Takumi needed though, he would give to him, and he would do it without a second thought.

Leo settled for a plush chair at Takumi’s bedside rather than the bed itself. It was comfortable enough, and he could hold the merman’s hand at least. He didn’t dare get into medicines and bandages before the other prince was awake. Clearly, he needed sleep more than anything; they both did. He could feel his exhaustion in every fiber of his being, and with Takumi finally safe he could rest far more peacefully.

Eventually, he fell asleep to the quiet drumming of rain against the roof of the cottage and the warm press of Takumi’s hand in his own, but his sleep didn’t last long. The chiming of alarm bells woke him easily and he bolted upright in the chair, his neck aching from the position he had slept in. He could hear the bells ringing from the castle, no doubt triggered by whatever guards had found that Takumi was missing. A prisoner was loose, gone from the dungeons, and he could only imagine how incensed Father would be.

He set Takumi’s hand down carefully before he crept to the window, moving the curtains just a bit to see that through a gap in the storm clouds dawn was just breaking over the horizon, pale pink erupting against the dusky violets hues of nighttime. It was as he had predicted; they had made it until morning. The kingdom was on high alert, but hopefully this place was safe enough to keep Takumi concealed for the foreseeable future.

A quiet sound came from the bed and Leo covered the window again before quickly rushing to Takumi’s side. His skin was still pale but now flushed red across his cheeks from the heat of a fever. The merman was whimpering quietly, his brows furrowed in his unconscious sleep, and the sight of it made Leo’s heart ache all over again.

He quickly fetched a cool basin of water from the small kitchen, soaking a soft cloth before he gently wiped at Takumi’s skin with it, stroking beads of sweat from his forehead. He pushed his bangs back, dampening the cloth once more before he folded it and set it against the heated skin. A quiet sigh left Takumi’s pale lips and he seemed to be calming down, his brow evening out as his sleep became a little more peaceful once again.

“I’m here,” Leo whispered into the quiet of the room, leaning forward to press a kiss to Takumi’s temple, squeezing his hand, “Don’t worry, I’m here.” Takumi seemed to lean towards him slightly for a moment before stilling again, but just the slightest movement made Leo smile a bit. He could feel the bittersweet nature of the expression on his own lips and in his heart. Only time would tell if Takumi was alright, or if he would even make it home.

The day wore on slowly. The alarm bells continued until noon before they quieted, but Leo knew that didn’t mean Father was giving up on finding Takumi. He spent the slow hours mostly napping at Takumi’s side, fetching himself a small bowl of soup when his hunger got the best of him.

Although Arthur had declared that Elise would be protecting his whereabouts if they came up, he still worried about too many inquiries into where he was. He had disappeared for days at a time before, taking his meals in his room or the library while he hid from the rest of the world, his siblings included, but in a time of crisis he figured he would be needed as a Prince of Nohr.

Perhaps Xander was the only one who was needed after all, and though the thought of that had irked him in the past, all he cared about in the moment was Takumi’s survival.

The merman’s face was still flushed with fever, red streaking across his far too pale cheeks. His breathing had slowed from the rushed shallow breaths that had previously left his lips to something deeper, and Leo took that to be a good sign at least.

When the sun was half-sunk into the horizon, Takumi finally started to stir, his hand tightening around Leo’s own on reflex and his brow furrowing, a quiet whimper leaving his throat. His eyes opened slowly, bleary with exhaustion and pain as he blinked sluggishly, clearly trying to understand where he was.

“Takumi,” Leo murmured his name, squeezing his hand gently. The quiet utterance was enough to get Takumi’s attention and hazy amber eyes moved slowly to fall on him.

“L-Leo…” Takumi’s whispered attempt at his name was weak and shaky, but it was enough, “D-did it… Did it work?”

“Yes,” Leo breathed out in a rush of air, giving Takumi a small smile, “We’re safe… You’re safe.”

“Where… Where is this?” Takumi asked slowly, blinking around at the room once before focusing on Leo again.

“It’s a safe place,” Leo assured him easily, raising a hand to stroke along Takumi’s flushed cheek, “Elise prepared it for you. You can relax and heal here without fear of danger, and I’ll be with you the whole time, okay?” Takumi gave a tiny nod, one that he could feel under his palm, and just the slight movement made him smile, “Is there anything you need?”

“Can I have some water?” Takumi asked slowly and Leo obliged. He poured a glass of water from the pitcher at Takumi’s bedside, easing an arm under him to help him sit up just enough to drink it. Takumi drank the water hurriedly, a soft sound of contentment leaving his throat when he tasted the cool liquid. He seemed almost disappointed when it was gone, but he didn’t protest to laying down once more in the bed.

“Better?” Leo smiled, adjusting the blankets around Takumi’s shoulders again as the merman nodded, “You should rest more for now. Your fever is still high, and you need to sleep.”

“You’ll stay with me?” Takumi asked, shaky worry coming into his voice, “Please stay…”

“I would never leave you alone and vulnerable like this. I promised you that, remember?” Leo murmured, stroking his thumb slowly over the back of Takumi’s hand.

“Mhm,” Takumi managed to hum, the sound barely audible from his throat, “I remember… You promised me…” The merman’s voice trailed off as his eyelids fluttered once before his eyes moved back to gaze up at Leo, half-lidded and despairing for something, “Leo… Will you hold me?” he asked quietly. There was no bashful shame to his plea, only desperate longing, and Leo knew there was no way he could deny him.

“Of course,” he nodded, “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable before you woke up, but now I’ll hold you as long as you want me too.” Takumi’s lips quirked at that, and Leo could tell he was trying to smile through the listless weakness he was feeling, and that was enough for him.

He slowly got up onto the bed, staying above the numerous blankets he had surrounded Takumi with to keep him warm. He settled against the pillows, carefully moving Takumi’s body while being mindful of the bandages still wrapped around his torso. Eventually, Takumi was curled into his side in a cocoon of blankets, his head resting half on a pillow and half on his chest. His arm wrapped around Takumi’s shoulders and he kept his other hand holding Takumi’s own, holding him close and snug, anything to make him know he wasn’t alone.

“Please rest now,” he whispered, leaning to press a kiss to Takumi’s hair, “I’ll be right here with you the whole time.” He felt Takumi nod against his chest in response, his eyes slipping shut.

He could tell when Takumi was peacefully sleeping, his face calm and his breaths slow. Carefully, he reached out, settling his hand against Takumi’s chest, feeling the steady vibrations of his beating heart under his palm. He let a quiet breath fall from his lips, a sense of unrealized relief that Takumi was alive and in his arms and no longer a prisoner. Something deep within him had always believed that he would never get the merman out alive, that one day he would walk down to the dungeons to find guards hauling Takumi’s cold body away. He would have had to find a way to talk to Takumi’s family, to tell them what had happened to their brother, to beg them to take his life as recompense.

But Takumi was alive, sick and frail but still breathing, and that became more and more real with every beat of his heart combined with the warmth of the life in the skin under Leo’s hands. Takumi breathed out against his neck, breathed in, and breathed out again, and Leo allowed himself to finally relax and just hold Takumi like they both needed.

* * *

 

Takumi didn’t stir until the next morning, and Leo had eventually fallen asleep with his arms still wrapped around him, finally giving into his own exhaustion. Though when the merman moved in his arms, he easily awoke, blinking at the mid-morning sunlight that filtered in from between the curtains. He gave himself a moment to become more awake before he turned his attention to Takumi. The merman was shifting against him slightly, showing signs of impending wakefulness in the warm surroundings of the blankets still loosely wrapped around him.

Hesitantly, Leo reached out, grazing the back of his hand over Takumi’s cheek before passing it slowly over his forehead. He was still feverish, but the intense heat of it had died down a bit, leaving his cheeks far less flushed than before, but still too sickly in appearance for him to relax completely. Nevertheless, it seemed the rest had done the merman some good, and when his eyes finally opened to the morning light they looked more focused and less hazy than before.

“Good morning,” Leo greeted, leaning to press a kiss to Takumi’s hot forehead, “Did you sleep well? Your fever has gone down a bit.” It took a long moment for Takumi to respond, but he finally nodded, a sleepy hum of affirmation coming from his throat before he leaned forward, nuzzling even closer.

“I feel a little better,” he said softly, his lips mumbling the words into Leo’s neck, “Thank you for staying.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Leo soothed, “I told you; I’ll always stay with you. Would you like something to eat? I should probably change your bandages too, or you could take a bath first if you wanted?”

“A… A bath?” Takumi asked out, his brow furrowing as he cocked his head back, his gaze meeting Leo’s. “What’s that?”

“Oh, right, you wouldn’t know I suppose,” Leo laughed quietly, stroking a hand through Takumi’s hair, “It’s how humans clean up or just relax. You just sit in water and use soaps to wash yourself. I think you’d like it,” he smiled, seeing how the merman had perked up at just the prospect of getting to sit in a tub of water, “How about you eat first, and then I’ll take you to the bath?”

“Yes, please,” Takumi responded eagerly, nodding with a newfound brightness in his eyes despite the pallor tone of his face and the weakness that still clung to his voice, “Thank you so much, Leo,” he sighed, leaning to press a soft kiss to his chin.

Leo didn’t bother to remind Takumi once again that he would do anything for him, simply running his hand through his hair once more before he slipped from the bed, heading for the small kitchen. It took him only a few minutes to fetch Takumi a steaming bowl of soup, some bread, and more water for him to drink. He knew Takumi had only tried a handful of mild human foods, and he didn’t want to overwhelm him with anything too extravagant. Perhaps he could brew some tea later for him to see how he liked it, but for the time being his only goal was to see Takumi eating well after being locked up in the dungeons for so long. The merman was struggling to sit up in the bed when he returned with the tray of food, and he quickly set it down to help Takumi up.

“Don’t push yourself,” he warned gently as he helped Takumi to sit up in the bed, bolstering him with several of the pillows, “You need to heal and get your strength up, but I’ll be here to help you all the while.” He gave Takumi a reassuring smile before he moved the tray to the merman’s lap, “Elise left this soup here for you. I doubt you could eat raw fish like you would normally now that you have changed, but I think you’ll like the soup.” He settled himself back at Takumi’s side as the merman studied the soup with a serious look in his eyes. He reached out slowly, lightly dipping his finger into the soup before he pulled away in surprise.

“It’s hot!” he gasped lightly in surprise, “Is it supposed to be?”

“Yes, of course,” Leo smiled, reaching to hand Takumi the spoon, “You eat it with this. It’s called a spoon.”

“A _spoon_ ,” Takumi repeated slowly, reaching to tentatively grasp the utensil in his hand, “Humans are so strange… How does it work?”

“We’re not too strange,” Leo huffed teasingly, “To me, eating raw fish by itself is strange,” he laughed at the pout on Takumi’s lips, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you.” He took the spoon back and carefully dipped it into the bowl, scooped out a spoonful of the soup, “You have to make sure it’s not too hot,” he said as he gently blew across the surface of the liquid before raising the spoon to Takumi’s lips, “Here.” Takumi looked unsure for a moment before he leaned forward a bit, carefully sipping the broth from the spoon, his throat bobbing once as he swallowed.

“Ah,” he breathed as his body shuddered with a slight shiver, “It feels so _warm_ ,” he sighed, “Can I have some more?” He asked with such an earnest desire that Leo could almost sense the same feeling he continually got when they had met at the beach. Takumi’s eyes had been so bright and curious whenever he had brought him something new to try. There had been no bandages nor scars on his body, and he had been so alive, so filled with strength and light that his very essence had captivated Leo beyond anything he had ever expected.

Now Takumi had grown thinner and dulled, weakened by his time and torture in the dungeons, and he knew it was his duty to bring that light back to him.

He gave a small nod, dipping the spoon back into the soup before he raised it to Takumi’s lips once more, quietly feeding him and taking reward in the tiny sighs of contentment that left Takumi’s throat from time to time. He watched as Takumi’s fingers strayed, reaching for a piece of the bread on the tray.

“Remember when we first met and you showed me bread and other things, Leo?” he asked softly, “I just- I just wish that had never ended… I wanted that to be forever, just you and me.”

“I think about that a lot,” Leo admitted, setting down the spoon to reach for Takumi’s hand instead, “I wish it could have just stayed you and me. Those are some of my favorite memories, the happiest of moments that I can recall upon recently, and even though it’s different now just being here with you makes me happy.”

“But,” Takumi started, his fingers tightening around Leo’s own, “You know that- after this, when you take me back to the sea, we won’t be able to- to see each other anymore… My family won’t allow it, and I know now that it’s too dangerous. I don’t want to be taken away again. I love you, Leo, but I- I _can’t_ … I can’t go back to that place. I-I can’t-”

“I know” Leo said quickly, moving closer when the trembling in Takumi’s voice spread to his entire body and suddenly the merman was on the brink of tears. He wrapped his arms around Takumi gently to not press on his injuries, pulling him close, “It would kill me to let you go back to the dungeons… Just knowing you’re alive and safe is enough for me. But for now, won’t you let me just- take care of you? And show you just how much I adore you? We don’t have much time left together after all…”

“I don’t think I’d mind that too much,” Takumi murmured, and Leo could hear the smile in his voice before the expression even formed over his lips, “Can I- do the bath now?”

“Yes I suppose you’ve eaten enough for now,” Leo nodded, “And you really need new bandages,” he said mostly to himself as he pulled away, moving the tray off the bed and offering his hands to Takumi, “Come on, I’ll help you over.”

A hesitant look passed over Takumi’s face as he eyed Leo’s hands, his gaze shifting to the blankets obscuring his lower body once before moving back to Leo’s face. His throat bobbed in a hard swallow and then Leo realized without words where the trepidation came from.

“Are you afraid?” he asked softly, “To see yourself… as a human?” Takumi gave a tiny nod before he ducked his head clearly to hide his shame, and Leo hated the fact that he could think of himself as anything other than brave for allowing himself to go through with the idea, “There’s nothing to be afraid of nor to be ashamed of… You haven’t abandoned your true self. This was the only way to conceal you here.”

“I know, I know,” Takumi sighed, his eyes stilled troubled, “I just- I feel so far away, from the ocean, from my family, my kingdom… I miss everything so much and- and it’s like if I see myself this way the threat of it becoming permanent is even more terrifying,” he whispered, “Not that being human is bad though! I find it would be interesting to see what it would be like, but not now… Not like this… Now while everything is so _frayed_.” His shoulders trembled and Leo stepped closer, reaching to take his hand in his own, “M-my family doesn’t even _know_ where I am,” Takumi continued, his voice growing hoarse with the threat of tears, “Th-they probably think I’m _dead_ , Leo!” His voice broke into a cracked sob and Leo instantly moved closer, pulling Takumi into his arms.

He could feel Takumi shaking, trembling with the force it took to keep his sobs inside, and his heart ached for the boy he had come to love. He didn’t doubt his siblings would come looking for him if he was missing, and he could very well imagine Takumi’s brother, the ruler of an entire kingdom, scouring the seas for his little brother. From what he had heard about King Ryoma from both Takumi and Xander, he knew the King of Hoshido was a caring man, and that only strengthened his resolve to see Takumi reunited with his loved ones.

“Takumi, please listen to me,” he breathed slowly, kissing Takumi’s temple and then pulling back a bit to kiss his forehead, “Your siblings are out there right now looking for you, understand? From what I’ve heard about them, they would never just give up on you, and as soon as you are stronger you’ll see them again. There is nothing I won’t do to see you with them again, alright?” He could feel Takumi’s fingers curling into his shirt and the merman in his arms made a tiny nod, his eyes still cloudy with unshed tears, “Come on. I’ll take you to the bath,” Leo smiled, kissing Takumi’s forehead once more before he pulled away again.

Takumi still looked hesitant, but he reached out to grasp Leo’s hands this time, shifting under the blankets to slide his legs out, his feet hovering over the floor. A quiet gasp left his throat when his toes brushed against the rug and his grip tightened on Leo’s hands as he shakily stood, his wide eyes on his feet for a moment before he looked up, a bewildered look on his face.

“What’s that look for?” Leo asked warily, keeping a tight hold on the shaky prince.

“You… You’re _taller_ than me,” Takumi realized out loud. After a moment, Leo laughed, smiling at the incredulity that crossed Takumi’s features before his shocked expression transformed into a cute pout. Truthfully, he hadn’t given much thought into what the state of Takumi’s physical nature would be as a human, but a warm feeling flowed through his heart at the realization that Takumi was _smaller_ than him. He could pull him to his chest, wrap him tightly in a protective hold to keep every bit of him safe of he wanted to.

“I guess it just worked out that way, hm?” he teased lightly, earning another pout from Takumi, “But this way I can help you more easily. Careful, go slowly, and if you’re not up to walking, I can carry you to the bath.” Takumi nodded, his head dropped so he could stare back at his feet for a long moment before he moved one foot, inching forward just slightly. He floundered for a moment, his body tipping as his balance left him, but with a firm grip on Leo’s hands he managed to right himself, a relieved breath leaving his throat.

“I didn’t anticipate that it would be this difficult to just walk like you to,” he hummed, raising a foot to take another step, “It’s so different from swimming and I- ah!” He gasped as his third step stumbled badly, sending him lurching to the side only for Leo to tug him close, holding him steady against his chest.

“Are you alright?” Leo asked quickly, feeling how Takumi’s breathing was already shaky with exertion, “That’s enough for today. You need to get your strength up first. Will you let me take you the rest of the way there?” Takumi looked disappointed for a moment, but eventually he nodded and Leo carefully slipped an arm behind his knees, easing him into his arms, “I don’t remember much about learning to walk,” he smiled, “But I truly admire your strength,” he murmured as he walked around the side of the bed, “I always have…”

“I’ll be better at it soon,” Takumi sighed, and Leo could recognize the disappointment in his voice but it was easily being drowned out by a stronger force of determination, “I want to be able to walk with you at your side, Leo.”

“And you will,” Leo said easily, “Before you return to the sea, we have time to do many things together.” He reached the bathroom quickly, setting Takumi down on the chair in the corner of the room before he started tending to the bath. He started running the hot water into the bath tub, finding a plethora of different soaps to use, but he figured the mildest would be best for Takumi, especially with the injuries he still donned. He added some bubbling soap to the filled tub, watching as suds covered the surface of the water. When he turned back to help Takumi undressed, he found the merman’s attention completely captivated by the state of the tub, his eyes wide with excitement as he eyed the bubbles.

“Looks nice, right?” Leo smiled, unable to help the expression whenever he saw the light dancing in Takumi’s eyes, “Let me take off your bandages and then you can get in.” Takumi nodded easily, his own hands going to the ties at the waist of his pants without a second thought. Clearly he didn’t share the modesty most humans had when it came to clothes and he had shucked off the pants before Leo had even begun unraveling the bandages.

He knew he had to go slowly. The injuries under the bandages would still be fairly fresh and he didn’t want to exacerbate Takumi’s pain in anyway. Carefully, he started ripping through the white strips of cloth, dropping the bloodied wrappings to the ground as he exposed Takumi’s injured body. The wound in his side from when he had been captured looked to be nearly closed up, but still tender to the touch judging by the small winces Takumi gave when his fingers probed at it. The whip marks to his back were in varying states of healing, some shallower once closed up but the deeper lacerations still gaped with how recent they were. Still, it didn’t look like anything was infected, and since his fever had been going down, Leo figured Takumi’s weakness was mostly due to exhaustion.

“Can I go in now?” Takumi asked eagerly, breaking Leo’s thoughts away from the state of the merman’s injuries, “The bath looks so fun, Leo,” he admitted, ducking his head quickly but Leo caught the sight of the tiny shy smile on his lips.

“Of course. I hope you enjoy it,” Leo smiled in return, moving to carefully pick Takumi up again, carrying him to the side of the tub before he lowered him into the water. Immediately, a long sound of contentment trailed from Takumi’s lips, and Leo watched as his eyes fluttered shut, his head falling back against the edge of the tub as the water caressed his entire body.

“Feels so…. So _nice_ ,” he mumbled out, his head lolling to the side before his eyes flickered open, half-lidded with sleepy satisfaction, “I like the bath,” he decided out loud.

“I thought you would,” Leo smiled, unable to help himself as he leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Takumi’s lips, smiling against the plush surface, “May I wash your hair for you?”

“Mhm!” Takumi nodded eagerly, humming with delight against Leo’s lips as he kissed him back once and then twice, “The bubbles smell nice… Does all- the _soap_ smell nice?”

“Usually,” Leo shrugged, deciding on a bottle of rose-scented shampoo for Takumi’s hair, “There are a lot of different scents to soaps. This one is made with the smell of a flowering plant. They’re called roses.”

“Roses,” Takumi repeated happily as he patted at the bubbles surrounding him, “They sound nice,” he smiled, looking over his shoulder as Leo moved to sit behind him in the tub, “I like these bubbles,” he remarked, “They remind me of sea foam, you know?” He smiled wide, his eyes so bright with the light that had come so close to vanishing. His eyes were slightly dull with the effects of the fever still evident on his cheeks, but Leo could see the change. He was healing, strengthening with the force of such small joys, and Leo could feel his own heart burning with adoration.

He gave Takumi a kiss in return before he rolled up his sleeves, cupping his hands into the water to pour it over Takumi’s head, dampening his hair down into wet strands that flowed down his back and floated around his shoulders in the water. Even if a bathtub as nothing like the ocean, and even if Takumi was changed, he was still so beautiful in the water that it stole the breath from Leo’s lungs.

Takumi was humming happily as Leo poured shampoo into his palms, placing his hands into the merman’s hair to start scrubbing lightly, working the soap into a thick lather. He worked his hands through the long strands, gathering them up to make sure they were thoroughly coated in the sweet-smelling shampoo. Slowly, he dragged his fingers against Takumi’s hair, easing his hands down to the merman’s neck and shoulders, rubbing slow soothing circles into his skin. He could feel how knotted Takumi’s muscles were beneath his skin and he worked to undo that stress with slow careful ministrations.

“Your hands feel so nice,” Takumi sighed out, “Do humans bathe each other like this often?” he asked curiously, looking over his shoulder to blink at Leo.

“N-not exactly,” Leo coughed out, feeling his cheeks reddening at the intimacy of the situation, “Humans usually just- wash themselves… But close people can bathe together sometimes I guess,” he mumbled.

“Like us?” Takumi hummed, a smile on his lips, “It reminds me of when we went swimming together! That was… The _best_ day, Leo.”

“I remember,” Leo teased softly, cupping his hands once more to start washing the suds from Takumi’s hair, “I still have the pearl you gave me. I actually sent it to a goldsmith in town to have it made into a pendant.”

“Really?” Takumi gasped, “I bet it will be beautiful, just like you are,” he said, a bright peal of laughter escaping his throat after, “I can’t believe you thought it came from a _clam_ ,” he giggled, splashing lightly in the water as he laughed.

“That’s why I have you to correct me I guess,” Leo huffed, ignoring the burning that shot from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, “Close your eyes for a moment. I don’t want you to get soap in them.” Takumi complied easily, turning his head back forward and shutting his eyes as Leo poured water over his head, watching a rivulets of water sluiced down his face and neck, dripping back into the tub of water. With his hair cleaned of blood and grime from the dungeons, Takumi seemed to almost glow in the light of the bathroom, the silver strands of his wet hair catching the light so easily.

Mesmerized, Leo dragged his fingers carefully through the merman’s long hair, carefully picking free any knots until every strand laid smooth and shining.

“Can I open my eyes now?” Takumi asked out after a moment and Leo made a soft sound of affirmation as he continued to stroke his fingers through the silver locks.

“Let me get a sponge to get everything else washed away,” he said quickly when he finally broke his attention away from Takumi’s hair. He found a fairly soft sponge, knowing something coarse would irritate Takumi’s injuries. He lathered the sponge with soap, letting out some of the water in the tub so it rested around Takumi’s waist instead of around his shoulders, giving him access to the rest of his skin.

He started at Takumi’s neck, dragging the sponge carefully over his skin, scrubbing in slow circles to make sure any trace of the dungeons was washed away. He lightly sponged over the wounds in his back, swallowed thickly at the streams of blood-tinged water than ran from some of his wounds. Takumi winced a few times, but he seemed generally content, even leaning into Leo’s slow cleaning with soft sighs leaving his lips.

When he was finished, the water was starting to grow cold, and Leo knew he’d rather see Takumi bundled up in warm blankets than in the chilling tub any longer. Takumi seemed reluctant to leave the water, but he grabbed onto Leo’s arms when offered, shakily hauling himself up. He wrapped Takumi in clean towels, scrubbing one through his hair to try and soak up as much wetness as possible before he took him back to the bed.

The sun was barely starting to set, but as Leo fetched Takumi a new pair of slacks, rewrapped bandages around his injuries, and surrounded him with blankets once more, he could tell the merman was exhausted.

“Thank you for the bath, Leo,” Takumi said softly as he slid beneath the blankets in the bed, his damp hair spreading over the numerous pillows, “I liked it a lot, and I feel much better than before.” He smiled soft and sleepy as Leo dimmed the lamps in the room and slid the curtains closed. His cheeks were still too red, the rest of his skin still too pale, but Leo could tell he wasn’t in pain and rest would only do him good.

“I’d happily do it over and over,” he responded, approaching Takumi’s bedside to stroke a hand against his heated cheek, “But now, I want you to rest, alright? I should head back to the castle.” He felt Takumi tense and his eyes widened in shock for just a short moment before Leo was soothing him quickly, stroking fingers through his hair and along his cheeks to ease his worries, “I just have to go back for a little bit. Elise was covering for me, but if I’m gone any longer, it will seem suspicious. I’ll be back by morning the latest, probably before you even wake up. When you wake, it’ll be like I never left, okay? And I can bring some things from the castle for you.”

“If you must go,” Takumi still looked wary, but he nodded after a moment, leaning into the palm on his cheek, “Please kiss me first, a-and wait until I’m asleep before you leave. Please?”

“You never have to ask for me to kiss you,” Leo laughed softly, “I _always_ want to kiss you.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips to Takumi’s slowly, still cradling his cheek in his open palm. He felt Takumi shudder before his body relaxed and a quiet sound left his throat. Slowly, his lips parted and Leo kissed him even deeper, slowly tasting his lips with careful passes of his tongue, easing his way into Takumi’s hot mouth. Their lips slotted together so easily and Leo couldn’t help but think that he was made to kiss Takumi’s lips over and over again. Takumi kissed so sweetly, shyly using his tongue and moving his lips slowly. There was fire in the action, but it wasn’t burning too fast or too hot. A simmering pile of coals glowed between them where their lips met, a kind of slow, temperate warmth, and that was all Leo wanted in the moment, something to make him feel even closer to Takumi.

When the kiss broke, Takumi’s eyes were barely open, his lips kissed red and wet from Leo’s tongue, but he was smiling softly and love glowed in the sliver of amber Leo could see that wasn’t hidden beneath his lids.

“I love you,” Leo breathed out, pressing a kiss to Takumi’s forehead and then to each cheek, finally kissing his lips chastely once more, “I love you so much, and I’ll be back very soon.”

“I love you too,” Takumi murmured, his eyelids fluttered before they finally closed, “Love you, Leo…” As promised, Leo stayed at Takumi’s side until he was sure he was asleep, his breathing deep and even in his chest. He arranged the blankets once more, making sure Takumi was snuggly tucked in before he pressed one last kiss to his hair.

He gathered up a few things to take back to the castle and pulled his dry boots back on. Before he left, he made sure the fire was still keeping the cottage sufficiently warm. He knew Takumi wouldn’t have much of an idea of how to stoke the flames higher if he woke up in a cold room and he wouldn’t want the merman to accidentally burn himself.

Takumi was sleeping soundly, curled up in the large bed, and though it hurt to leave him alone even if it was only for a little while, Leo knew he had to go.

The cool afternoon wind hit his cheeks as he exited the cottage, locking it up tightly before he paused to gaze out towards the horizon. He could see the ocean from the lookout point, and it hurt to know that Takumi was so close to his home but unable to get there just yet.

Soon. He would take Takumi home soon. It would hurt to say goodbye, but it was for the best. Perhaps when Father was gone and Xander took the throne they could be together once more. Perhaps Xander and King Ryoma could unite their kingdoms, but the animosity was too severe at the moment, and Leo knew they kingdoms had to stay separate for the safety of their people.

He sighed quietly, the sound easily being stolen from his lips by the wind, and he started for the castle. By the time the sun would rise over the horizon again, he vowed to be back at Takumi’s side.

That was where he was meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a uneventful chapter, and I apologize for that, but next chapter will have more exciting things!
> 
> As always, please come find me on twitter or tumblr and feel free to talk to me about fics or leokumi or life or whatever! ; w;)b
> 
> Thank you for any and all views, comments, and kudos!! They really mean so much to me <3
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter 7! >wo
> 
> EDIT: omg I didn't even REALIZE but thank you all so much for 400+ kudos and almost 5.5k views!! ;w; I can't believe ahhhhh thank you all so so much <3

**Author's Note:**

> You can always find me on twitter [@leokuumi](https://twitter.com/leokuumi) and on tumblr [here at carbonfootprintao3](carbonfootprintao3.tumblr.com)!!!


End file.
